Latest news with #PanoAI
CBS News
24-05-2025
- CBS News
Colorado county gets high tech, uses fire suppression heliteam and AI to combat wildfires
A fire department in Colorado has modernized the way it fights wildfires with high-tech solutions. Last year, Douglas County's fire suppression helicopter and helitack team responded to 34 wildfires, including nine outside the county. But it's not the only tool the county is using to fight wildfires. Your reporter in Douglas County learned about how AI is being used to detect wildfires early and send that data to first responders. CBS When a fire sparks, the Pano AI camera can detect it within minutes. "It might be a small camera, but it's looking out miles and miles into the distance," said Peter Ambler, Vice President for Government Affairs, Pano AI. Ambler says the technology recognizes the very first wisps of smoke. CBS "These are fixed in areas with pre-existing high fire risk. They're going on cell towers, on mountaintops, oftentimes in some of the most rugged and remote landscapes," Ambler said. "They rotate 360 degrees, stitching together a 360-degree panoramic feed, the artificial intelligence then crawls that feed." The company partners with utilities like Xcel Energy and CORE Electric and has 12 camera stations in Douglas County. Once one of them spots a fire, first responders like Jason Lownsdale and the county's helitack team are in the air in five minutes. "My position is to supervise the crew and to fly front seat in the helicopter manager role, talking on the radio air-to-ground frequencies before I get out," said Jason Lownsdale, emergency service unit supervisor for the Douglas County helitack program. The team can be anywhere in the county in 12 minutes. From the air, they size up the fire and report back to dispatch, then they hit the ground. "Once we get on scene, the crew will hop out, unload all of our line gear, our IA bag, initial attack bag, that has all of our hand tools, some medical equipment, our chainsaw and fuel," Lownsdale said. CBS While the crew fights the fire from the ground, the helicopter drops 300 gallons of water from above. In the last year, Pano's AI detection helped stop the Bear Creek and Turkey Track fires in Douglas County. Together, the technology and quick work of first responders means a rapid response that Douglas County says saves property, resources and lives. "It's not really a season anymore. It can happen whenever. When we get a fire is, yeah, we'll be ready," Lownsdale said. Right now, Pano has 86 AI camera stations in Colorado. In just a few months, that number will be 163.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Douglas County beefing up wildfire resources ahead of summer
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Douglas County now has a dedicated helicopter at its disposal for any wildfires that break out in 2025. New funding for the contract was approved in January 2025 and guarantees that Douglas County has round-the-clock access to the aerial firefighting tool for at least 168 days through December 31. 'There are many fires that the media never even hears about because of the ability of this contract, the ability of this equipment and the personnel that we have that can go at a moment's notice and fight these fires,' Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said. According to Weekly, 66% of people living in Douglas County live in the wildland urban fire interface. The inherent risk is what led county commissioners to fund the helicopter and form the only locally-supported helitack team in Colorado. DDPHE contacting people who may have been exposed to measles at DIA 'These teams can get into where other fire apparatus can't get to,' Weekly said. Douglas County is also using a system of cameras equipped with artificial intelligence to alert wildfire teams to smoke, often before a fire is reported. The technology comes from a company called Pano AI. They operate 12 cameras in Douglas County, which are funded by Xcel Energy and CORE Electric Cooperative. The cameras constantly scan the horizon over a 10-mile range. 'If a smoke alert comes in, we'll load up into the helicopter and we'll fly to where the alert was,' Douglas County emergency services operator Brianna Smith said. 'We can get anywhere in the county within 15 minutes.' Pano AI has more than 80 smoke-detecting cameras along Colorado's Front Range and in some mountain communities. They plan to install more than 150 additional cameras over the next several months. 'It's a huge improvement in public safety and protecting our homes, but more our people here in Douglas County,' Highlands Ranch resident Jim Wattenburger said. Wattenburger worked in the wildland firefighting industry for 34 years before retiring in 2011. He is advocating for more areas of Colorado to follow in Douglas County's footsteps when it comes to firefighting technology. 'I was in command of two staffed fire lookouts,' he said. 'Now they've replaced the personnel in those lookouts with fire alert cameras to where they pick it up, and have coordinates. Things are so much more advanced that this technology is a real game changer,' Wattenburger said. While the helicopter is specific to Douglas County, it will be available to respond to other areas of Colorado if needed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
