AI teaming up with California firefighters to spot smoke before it spirals into chaos

Smoke from the Airport Fire seen from the nearby town of Big Pine, California. The nation's most wildfire-prone state is teaming up with an artificial intelligence platform that "never sleeps" and can detect potential fires before they spiral into chaos. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) is partnering with University of California San Diego's ALERTCalifornia, a public safety program that studies natural disasters, to test a $24 million AI program. "We've got an automated system that never sleeps, never rests, watching the North Bay 24 hours, seven days a week," Cal Fire Napa-Lake-Sonoma Unit Chief Mike Marcucci told Fox 2. California is the state most threatened by wildfires in the nation, with 7,396 recorded wildfires in 2021 alone, and 2.5 million acres burned. The Golden State recorded another 7,447 wildfires last year, which burned a combined 331,360 acres.