Fire lookouts have spent more than a century in towers above the western United States keeping watch for smoke. Now, artificial intelligence can do the same.
On July 17, a camera on Lewis Peak in northern Summit County spotted a smoldering, lightning-caused fire.
It was several miles north of the Tollgate Canyon area and west of Hoytsville. Battalion Chief Tyler Rowser said North Summit Fire District crews were quickly able to extinguish it.
“I was here at the office almost all day, never saw any smoke coming from the Lewis Peak area,” Rowser told KPCW. “This could have smoldered for days until we got a good heat day and winds, so then could have been a much bigger issue.”
Rowser said the camera is operated by the company Pano AI and paid for by Rocky Mountain Power. But public agencies can request free access to Pano stations in their area.
The company primarily markets its cameras to utility providers, fire agencies and private landowners or neighborhoods.
Each system comprises two cameras, one facing east and one west, each with a 180-degree view. According to Rowser, there are two others near the towns of Morgan and Hideout.
“It's not as big as in Utah as it is towards California and the West Coast,” Rowser said. “They're moving this way… It is gaining in popularity here.”
Pano says real humans review potential fires flagged by AI and decide whether to notify subscribers via text. Rowser said the Summit County Sheriff’s Office also gets alerts from the Lewis Peak camera station.
“Then we got on the phone and start talking, like, ‘Hey, where's this at? Who do we need to send to it?’” he said.
In the year since North Summit Fire gained access to Pano, most fires were reported before they were caught on camera, according to Rowser. Or, he receives false positives when farmers and ranchers perform controlled burns on their property.
But if the July 17 lightning strike had gone unnoticed and spread, the flames could have threatened television and radio infrastructure atop Lewis Peak. That includes KPCW’s own 88.1 FM signal.
