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CAL FIRE Implements Video Surveillance System for Fire Detection (3/9/10)
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) deployed Exalt microwave backhaul systems as part of a new solution that reduces costs and delivers more accurate information so CAL FIRE personnel can respond to wildland fires more quickly and efficiently.
CAL FIRE deployed a system that uses high-definition video cameras mounted on unstaffed lookout towers for fire detection. Two years in development, the system relies on microwave backhaul systems to connect the cameras with monitors and personnel at the Amador/El Dorado Unit, emergency command center (ECC) in Camino, Calif.
Historically, forestry agencies have used staffed lookout towers to monitor for fires and assist response crews in determining a fire's size and direction of travel. But budget cutbacks have left the agency to rely on 9-1-1 caller reports for information about fire locations.
As a result, CAL FIRE has had to dispatch aircraft to assist in determining the location, size, and direction of fires. With such flights potentially costing thousands of dollars each, the new system is likely to reduce costs.
With a mission to protect 31 million acres of privately owned land in California, CAL FIRE employees provides emergency services response in 36 of the state's 58 counties. The CAL FIRE resources that include firefighters, fire engines and aircraft respond to an average of more than 5,600 wildland fires each year. Those fires burn more than 172,000 acres annually.
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