alertwildfire.org

3/22/2019 (Permalink)

Thanks to a new website, fire officials are getting some help in locating the exact source of fires from a network of high-definition cameras sprinkled around California. Seventeen cameras are now being added to that network in the North Bay, a part of the state that has recently become synonymous with devastating wildfires.

By logging onto alertwildfire.org, fire officials will be able to zoom in on plumes of smoke and get a reading on its direction. This will help firefighters and emergency responders to see, locate and confirm fires, quickly scale fire resources up or down to respond appropriately, to study how the fire behaves until it ultimately is contained, and to help conduct evacuations.  

Longer periods of drought have contributed to an increased likelihood of devastating wildfires with tornado-like tendencies that allow fires to jump large rivers and traditional fire barriers.  This was driven home once again by the fires in Butte County in November, which destroyed some 14,000 homes including the entire community of Paradise.  SERVPRO of Vacaville helped several homeowners whose homes survived the fire storm, but wished more homes could have been saved.  It is our hope that the new camera system will help detect the source of future wildfires and decrease their devastation for homeowners in all of California.