A network of more than 500 high definition cameras equipped with night vision is increasingly helping California firefighters pin-point the locations of fires' origins in wildland areas.
Crews battling the LNU Lightning Complex in the North Bay were able to see images of the blaze in its infancy.
Dr. Graham Kent, the director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno, helped develop the ALERTWildfire camera network.
“It really allows them to have situational awareness throughout the whole fire event, and the cool part is we also allow the public to see everything,” said Dr. Kent.
The cameras are placed at higher elevations in various remote areas across the state, and the images are also uploaded to the internet, so the general public can view them.
“The public can't move the cameras, but they can see everything that’s going on, with respect to how dispatch is moving the cameras, where they are and are they near their home,” Dr. Kent told KCBS Radio. “So, this becomes very empowering, not only for the firefighters to know how to resource properly, like how many trucks, or hand crews or planes, but it also allows the public to know what's going on.”
The tech network will eventually grow to include 1,000 cameras.
The cameras are also used in other western states, such as Utah and Nevada.