At dawn, Sonoma County’s ridgelines look quiet. But while most of us sip coffee, a mesh of cameras, satellites and software is already sweeping the hills for the first wisp of smoke. It’s not science fiction anymore; it’s how fires will be found and fought here — faster, safer and with less guesswork.
Across the state, the ALERTCalifornia network now fields more than 1,000 high-definition, pan-tilt-zoom cameras. The system doesn’t just stream views; its AI flags anomalies and pushes alerts to dispatch centers before a human ever picks up the phone. In 2024 alone, Cal Fire logged 1,668 AI camera detections — 370 came in before the fire was reported by the public. That’s precious minutes shaved off a response, the difference between a roadside start and a ridge-running crown fire.
Those cameras aren’t abstract to Sonoma. Years of county planning — formalized in the 2023 Community Wildfire Protection Plan — lean on real-time situational awareness to steer fuel work and evacuation playbooks. The county and partners began adding fire cameras in priority watersheds years ago, and new coverage keeps expanding along critical corridors. Put simply, the eyes are already here, and they’re multiplying…