Californians are using AI to scour hours of footage looking for wildfires and hoping to prevent their spread

Californians hope artificial intelligence and solar-powered cameras installed in remote areas will help spot wildfires before they get out of control, reports John Branch of The New York Times. The cameras will be placed in some of the most fire-prone areas of rural California, and will be pointed at "the blind spot that local fire officials wanted to see."'

"These are the fire spotters of today — remote, high-tech cameras attached to communication towers, old lookouts or purpose-built tripods on high vantage points," Branch writes. The cameras — being installed by ALERTCalifornia — "have become a vital tool for firefighters and a ubiquitous presence in emergency coverage." 

ALERTCalifornia installs the cameras, and AI scours the footage, often finding wildfires before 911 calls are made, Branch reports. Officials use the feeds to monitor fires and coordinate teams to get to the scene. Live-feeds of the footage are publicly available on ALERTCalifornia's website. The organization is a "public safety program" based at the University of California San Diego specifically focused on technological responses to and prevention of wildfires.

"This system has changed the world of response," Napa County deputy fire chief, J.C. Greenberg told Branch. “We have instant visibility and instant information that we need to make response decisions.”