Wildfire was located at La Panza Ranch
– A wildfire at La Panza Ranch in SLO County was detected by an artificial intelligence (AI) technology used with the ALERTCalifornia system on Oct. 15 before any public detection was made. The fire was noticed around 12 p.m. and burned around 16 acres.
The La Panza Ranch fire was at the Hay Canyon Road and San Juan Creek Road intersection; it was around 40 minutes from the nearest Cal Fire station of Station 40. KSBY reports that no 911 calls from the public were made about the fire.
The ALERTCalifornia system, which has over 1,080 cameras and sensor arrays throughout the state on live feed, notified Cal Fire command that smoke was detected in the La Panza Ranch region, allowing for a quicker response time and prevention of a larger burn area.
“Based at the University of California San Diego, ALERTCalifornia is a public safety program working to understand natural disasters and determine short and long-term impacts on people and the environment to inform management decisions…Our discoveries help mitigate the impact of wildfires on people and property, and bolster research into how to best prepare and respond to wildfire threats, both before, during and after serious burn events,” reads the ALERTCalifornia website.