A little later 6:25 On November 8, 2018, the 911 dispatcher received the first report on a fire near the PoE dam in northern California. Nineteen minutes later, firefighters noticed something that would become the camp of the camp. Drought dried plants in the area, and powerful winds blew towards paradise, a town of 10 miles southeast. “This has the potential for a serious incident,” said the head of the fire brigade Matt McKenzie back to the incident.
An hour later, sizzling Żarów fell on the southern side of Paradise, causing fires in place in front of the main front. Within 40 minutes of lighting the first place, the main fire front reached the city. The camp fire would burn for the next two weeks, destroying paradise and killing 85 people. This is, along with the last LA fires, one of the most costly fires in US history.
The speed and devastation of recent fires focused on the early detection – the hope that fireitis shortly after the fire crew lights up enough time to lose them before it becomes uncontrolled. Cameras, satellites and sensors mounted on trees are advertised as ways of identifying burning when they start, but firefighters warn that early detection has their boundaries-in some cases no early detection can stop the worst fires from burning with burning with control .
As in the case of a camp fire, 911 connections are still the majority of the first detection, says Marcus Hernandez, deputy head of the California Forest Department and Fire Protection in the field of research and development of Wildfire Technology technology. Cal Fire also uses Alertcalifornia, a network of over 1144 high -resolution cameras throughout the state, which can see up to 60 miles during the day and 120 miles at night. The camera network is based in UC San Diego and is monitored by fire brigade professionals in command and control centers throughout the state.
In mid -2023, Alertcalifornia added the possibility of automatically detecting smoke columns from the camera from the camera using AI. “Only situational awareness from these strategically located cameras was already a benefit of a gigantic leap forward related to the detection of AI anomalies,” says Hernandez. Cal Fire also uses a system called Fireguard, which uses military satellites to detect heat from fires. “It just puts us in the ambulance to check our other tools to find out if there is fire or not. We will automatically send. “
Dryad Networks, a startup based in Germany, wants to improve the early detection of fires by matching trees with remote sensors that can detect fire smoke. “It is a cheap gas sensor powered by solar energy, like an electronic nose. It is similar to what you have at home on the ceiling, but he has AI and built -in wireless communication, “says Carsten Brinkschulte, co -founder and general director of the company.
According to Brinkschulte, each device costs around USD 104 and can protect a hectare of forest. Only California has about it 13 million hectares From the forest, but Brinkschulte says that his company wants to focus on much smaller areas of high risk, in which fire has a better chance of starting. Interest areas of Dryad include close railway lines, roads, tourist paths and energy lines that have been associated with more than 3,600 California fires From 1992, including camp fire.