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May 6, 2026

States across the wildfire-prone Western US are using AI for early detection

  • The technology is mostly used in sparsely populated high-risk areas where a blaze might not be quickly spotted by humans.
    • By DORANY PINEDA and BRITTANY PETERSON
    Associated Press

    AP photo/Brittany Peterson [enlarge]
    Contractors inspect Pano AI cameras used for detecting wildfires on April 20 in Aurora, Colo.

    On a March afternoon, artificial intelligence detected something resembling smoke on a camera feed from Arizona's Coconino National Forest. Human analysts verified it wasn't a cloud or dust, then alerted the state's forest service and largest electric utility.


     
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