Bay Area companies are turning to technology that focus on fighting wildfires.
Google is sharing what they’re calling a “breakthrough in wildfire detection.”
FireSat is a program Google started with satellite experts and a number of nonprofits.
A new set of satellites has been designed to detect and track wildfires as small as the size of a classroom within 20 minutes.
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The RX2, BurnBot’s second generation-controlled burn machine, came into action as it burned a path through a grassy field in California.
Seth Schalet is the CEO of the nonprofit Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.
“There’s so much happening where fire science and traditional firefighting are merging, and really working together,” Schalet said.
Schalet said two weeks ago they announced a partnership with a competitive organization called OroraTech .
“I think we’re going to see a little bit of an arms race with satellite technology really being able to look down and detect fires but’s not just detection of the fires the mapping of the fires,” Schalet said.