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New way to view the Valley with Maricopa County live feed
Posted
When the monsoon hit the Valley for the second time last week, the administration building for Maricopa County saw it all.
From all directions.
The county installed four Nest Cam Indoor cameras on the 10th floor of the building, 301 W. Jefferson St. in Phoenix, in order to provide a live 24/7 feed for visitors to its website.
The feed, called “Valley View,” is available at maricopa.gov/valleyview, and has been live since July 23.
“We hope they enjoy the view!” Maricopa County Communications Director Fields Moseley said. “Our website sees millions of unique visitors every year and most people are coming for practical information or business, but some want to see where we are and understand how we affect their lives. This is a simple, visual introduction to Maricopa County that we hopes makes residents want to engage with us.”
Each of the cameras will be live streaming the skies to the north, south, east and west of downtown Phoenix . This includes all major weather events like the monsoon that has uprooted trees, knocked down power lines, removed rooftops, destroyed homes and caused power outages throughout Arizona.
The county says the skies above central Phoenix, South Mountain Park, the state Capitol, and other nearby areas will be visible.
The feeds are free to embed, share and broadcast online and on television.
The distance the cameras capture is dependent on the weather, Mr. Moseley said. The cameras are static inside the building and generally do not use the zoom function.
Several members of the county’s Communications team have access to the Nest website in order to view the cameras or create time lapse videos. They do not monitor the cameras all day.
From some of the angles in the live feed, people are seen walking along sidewalks in downtown Phoenix.
Should trouble occur in the cameras’ purview, Maricopa County will be fully cooperative with law enforcement.
“There is a chance they might capture some sort of criminal activity,” Mr. Moseley said. “However, at 10 stories up, they are not ideal for capturing faces, license plates or other identifying characteristics. They are also generally trained on the skyline to highlight the natural and urban environment.”
The county has had discussions about adding cameras to some other locations, but those are not being pursued yet.
“Maricopa County has many beautiful parks and communities to highlight,” Mr. Moseley added.
The Phoenix area had its last 110-plus degree day for a while as temperatures are expected to dip below 105 degrees in the Valley over the next week or two.
The forecast for Wednesday showed a high around 105 degrees and a 30 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.
More rain is possible in the next week or two as well.
Anyone needing a view of the potential rain are sure to find it on Valley View.
Time-lapses and clips are also available at the Maricopa County’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
This story appears in the Daily News-Sun Aug. 8 edition, page 1.
Ready for more monsoon? Send your photos and videos of the storm to ccaraveo@newszap.com or wvnews@newszap.com.
Send physical photographs to Daily News-Sun, 17220 N. Boswell Blvd. Ste. 101, Sun City AZ 85373.
Share your stories with those same emails or call 623-876-2531.