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Despite some recent rains across the province, British Columbians are well aware that wildfire season is fast approaching.
In an effort to combat these potentially devastating wildfires, the Whistler Fire Department became the first agency* in North America to install high tech Fire Watch cameras.
“The cameras work by rotating on a mast covering 360 degrees every six minutes and sees about 15 kilometres in the distance where it can detect smoke signatures and infrared from fires,” explained Whistler Fire Chief Geoff Playfair.
Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via a monitored computer system, the Fire Watch cameras could potentially give fire crews a crucial head start during wildfire season.
According to Kevin Skrepnek, Chief Fire Information Officer with the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), the province is exploring how camera/detection systems for the purpose of wildfire detection could be used effectively.
"Before procuring any new piece of technology or service, the BCWS wants to ensure that it is more effective than current products and systems in use," said Skrepnek.
"The BCWS already uses remote cameras for a variety of specific uses, including to help monitor modified response fires burning in remote areas."
While the Fire Watch cameras sound effective in theory, Whistler ** says thus far, the technology has failed any real added protection against wildfires.
"The cameras are only 'line of site' so if you had a flat open plain they would work great, Whistler is so mountainous and with all the ridgelines the cameras struggled to see anything that wasn't already obvious," said **.
However, ** did suggest that the technology would function better in a region such as the B.C. Interior, where the higher plateau sparsely populated area could use an early detection system.
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