Once seen as a temporary nuisance, dealing with smoke is increasingly becoming a policy priority.
Traditionally, satellites are used to cover large areas, scanning for signs of fire, but satellite imagery can only get so close and provide so much warning. Sensors, placed strategically, are much more precise. The greater the predictive capacity of the AI, be it baked into sensors, fire modelling software, or infrared cameras, the sooner crews can be alerted.
Fire modelling and sensors — along with eyes on the ground and in the air — are changing how fires are fought. For instance, the predictive power of artificial intelligence can inform crews as to the best place to place a barrier to stop the fire, or the best direction from which to attack the flames.One of the biggest challenges crews face is fighting fires in what’s known as the wildland-urban interface .
“The question is just how to get people out efficiently, and that’s where evacuation planning and alerting systems are important,” Radeloff says. At the moment, says Zhaodan Kong, a professor at the University of California, Davis, “the way that researchers are using these drones or the sensors to detect wildfire is more reactive.”He wants to change that.