Local lookout cameras will be equipped with artificial intelligence to detect wildfires

Sonoma County will bolster its nascent network of fire-lookout cameras with artificial intelligence that aims to automatically identify potential wildfire starts and provide alerts even when no one is watching. County officials announced the program Wednesday after awarding a $300,000 contract to Alchera, Inc., a South Korea-based company that develops algorithms for visual artificial intelligence systems. The technology, which is promising but still in development, is meant to automate Sonoma County's alert-and-warning efforts to provide more of a heads-up in case a wildfire starts, said Chris Godley, the county's emergency management director. "This is really designed to help us catch those extremely early starts, so it gives us that much more time to investigate and, if need be, respond," Godley said. Most of the funding for the new technology comes from a $2.7 million grant the county received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with the county chipping in about $75,000.