Tell your state leaders to check out wildfire-detecting AI cameras!

Arizona is building out a network of AI-powered wildfire detection cameras, made by startup Pano AI. By the end of the summer, Arizona Public Service plans to have over 30 such cameras deployed across the state, mounted at elevated locations with long viewsheds where they can detect, identify, and report early wisps of smoke up to 10 or even 30 miles away. The cameras become better at detecting smoke over time, learning with the help of human verification, and can also detect fires at night via infrared. One such AI camera, in Arizona’s Prescott National Forest, has already been instrumental in enabling the successful early detection and containment of the Brady Fire in February 2025.

“Our camera picked up on it, notified the Prescott dispatch center and gave them actually a location of where the fire was, and also gave them access to view what the smoke was doing, the direction the fire was moving, and it assisted those folks with getting resources on scene in a quick manner…

We want our communities to be safe in scenarios that could be catastrophic. That early detection is key to supporting our first responders.”

— Brian Kelley, Arizona Public Service

As drier and hotter conditions increase, wildfire detection technology is increasingly relevant across all of the United States, even in the eastern U.S. where it hasn’t historically been a major problem. AI wildfire detection cameras are starting to be adopted by utilities and state land management agencies nationwide. State leaders should support the deployment of these innovative disaster-prevention systems!

Tell your state leaders to check out wildfire-detecting AI cameras!