Artificial intelligence is now being used to spot wildfires faster—sometimes before anyone even sees smoke.

Denver

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in wildfire detection and response in the United States. High-resolution cameras equipped with AI algorithms have been installed on towers across western states, continuously analyzing imagery to detect smoke and heat signatures. When a potential fire is detected, a human analyst reviews the alert and notifies fire agencies within minutes, often before 911 calls are made.

Fire officials report that these systems provide a critical advantage by enabling faster and more precise responses. In California, nearly 40% of fires detected by AI cameras are identified before any emergency calls are received. As climate change extends fire seasons and increases wildfire risk, agencies are seeking to expand these networks, with thousands more cameras planned for deployment.

AI emerges as key tool in wildfire detection and response

We've now had more than a dozen wildfires around the state this year, and new ones keep sprouting up. And in recent years, wildfires have become some of the most deadly and costly natural disasters in the U. S. In 2024 alone, nearly 65,000 wildfires scorched close to nine million acres of land and destroyed more than 4500 structures around the country. Yeah, and early detection is critical in preventing small flames from turning into catastrophic infernos. Now there's a new high tech weapon in the fight against wildfires. Ben Tracy, with our partners at Climate Central, shows us how artificial intelligence is now being used to spot fires faster, sometimes before anyone even sees that smoke. Yeah, I just dropped a little bit so we can just check the gasket high in the mountains above Denver. Yeah, moving out on a 150 ft tall tower. Cassia, everything looks clear. Okay, go ahead and put it back up. Two technicians with no apparent fear of heights are checking a pair of eyes in the sky. What are those things up there? There are two pano A. I. Cameras. They're sitting on top of that cell tower. Arvin Satyam is co founder of Pano A. I. A San Francisco based startup that's deployed nearly 1000 high resolution cameras across 10 western states in the past four years. So this is one of the cameras. These are a six megapixel. They're on a swivel. They're a powerful new weapon in the fight against raging wildfires, using artificial intelligence to detect fire starts early so they can be contained. What specifically is the A. I doing? The A. I. Algorithms being run continuously on that imagery to say smoke, not smoke at nighttime. We're looking at heat signatures. So heat versus coal. Once the system flags something, a human analyst reviews the image and alerts fire agencies in a matter of minutes. Just outside Denver, West Metro Fire Assistant Chief Brendan Finnegan says these cameras give him a critical advantage, speed and a precise location. So having those eyes that can alert us well in advance of potentially a 911 call really make it a valuable tool for us. Is this kind of a nice to have? Or do you feel like this is a must have given the number of wildfires you're seeing? I think it's a have to have in our toolbox now. Climate change is fueling an increase in hotter, drier, windier days, creating a potent mix for wildfires. According to Climate Central, some areas in the West now experienced two additional months of fire weather each year compared to the 1970s. So this is all of our cameras. Cal Fire Chief Phillips League oversees California's own system of 1200 A. I. Enabled cameras called Alert California. This is where the A. I. Had detected something, he says. Nearly 40% of the time these cameras have detected fires before anyone calls 911 engine 3168 outside fire Bravo response. In July, one of them spotted this fire near Fresno 20 minutes before the first emergency call came in. So you got a huge head start, correct? That fire was quickly contained. How much do you trust this system and what it's telling you? We trusted enough that when we received that detection, we're already starting the process of sending resources to it. The fires that the system has helped us dispatch resources to are the fires that you don't read about in the papers, the ones that you don't see because the A. I. Eyes in the sky saw it first. It looks like both the cameras are looking good for Climate Central. I'm Ben Tracy in Denver, and they want a lot more of these cameras. Pano A. I. Says the U. S. Needs about 10,000 cameras in 15 states, including parts of the Northeast and Florida, too. And just in California, Cal Fire wants to add 900 more of those cameras for a total of 2000 to fully cover that state.

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AI emerges as key tool in wildfire detection and response

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