MARIN COUNTY (KRON) — Marin County Firefighters have a new tool to spot and fight wildfires.
KRON 4’s Maureen Kelly shows the 24-7 technology that gives first responders a better vantage point.
Personnel manning the Marin County fire command center now have a new way to watch for wildfires. Six cameras now sit on top of elevated peaks to give a better view of the vast and mountainous terrain. But they don’t have to keep their eyes constantly trained on the screens because the technology is designed to send an alert when it detects something burning.
Four of the cameras are being used to supplement the county’s two fire lookout stations, like the one on top of Mt. Tam.
They still need volunteers to keep watch, but these cameras work 24 hours a day, unlike the volunteers. So, they can now spot a fire burning at night.
It is technology that might have helped during the wildfire that broke out near Samuel P. Taylor State Park last June, which burned for several hours overnight before it was discovered.
Click here to see the cameras.