PHOENIX — State fire officials unveiled a new network of cameras using artificial intelligence on Friday in hopes of spotting wildfires before they get too big.
That network, at least as far as the Department of Forestry and Fire Management is concerned, is not very big. It amounts to just seven cameras, mostly in Mohave County and southeast Arizona.
But Russ Shumate, the agency’s deputy director of operations, said it is designed to mesh with cameras already operated in forest areas by Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power to look out for wildfires. All totaled, according to fire officials, that makes close to 50.
