SPOKANE, Wash. —
At least 12 extra sets of eyes in the sky are watching over Washington. Over the last five months, a dozen AI stations have been live to detect early signs of wildfires.
“This visual intelligence is helping the Department of Natural Resources with their strategy of rapid initial attack,” Pano AI CEO and co-founder Sonia Kastner said.
The systems are a part of a pilot program between the Washington Department of Natural Resources and Pano AI.
Kastner said the technology can help deploy resources to a fire faster.
"With Pano solution, we detect the smoke and videos of that fire within minutes," Kastner shared.
Kastner said Pano AI was created for the sole-purpose of wildfire detection. Kastner said six states in the U.S. already have at least one of Pano's systems.
DNR said at least a dozen AI stations are live across Washington. Four are live in eastern Washington.
Kastner said first responders are alerted to a fire's start like a Ring doorbell push notification. From there, firefighters can tell where a fire is, its rate of spread and potential threat to nearby structures.
Kastner said each station has two, six mega-pixel cameras that rotate 360 degrees, every minute, and can see up to 10 miles.
She said cameras are placed at high elevations on cellphone towers.
“That's what creates, not just the awareness, that there is a fire, but creates the call to action that allows multiple agencies to coordinate together to define and implement that most effective response that will keep communities safe,” Kastner said.
She said early detection can play a key role in limiting potential damage.
“For the high risk fast growing wildfires, the agencies can begin the aggressive response within minutes of the fire starting," Kastner explained. "And that's so critical in today's conditions where fuels are drier, temperatures are higher, humidity is lower and winds are faster. All these conditions are making fire spread faster. And so every minute matters.”
DNR prioritized cameras on state-owned land in high fire danger areas.
DNR said it spent $948,000 to install 21 AI stations by the start of the 2024 fire season. Funding is provided by HB 1168 or the 'Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Act.'
Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said in a September press conference that she hopes to install more stations in the future, if funding allows. She said she would like AI cameras to expand to private and tribal lands.
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