Casper Mountain Panel AI pilot credited with earlier detection on multiple incidents, officials say
November 01, 2025 | Appropriations, Joint & Standing, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming
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Representatives from Panel AI and a Casper Mountain fire chief told the Joint Appropriations Committee that an early-detection camera pilot on Casper Mountain produced actionable alerts this summer and fall.
Michaela Baker, government affairs manager for Panel AI, described a two-year pilot launched in coordination with State Forestry and noted that high-definition cameras scan 360 degrees and use artificial intelligence to detect smoke and alert a 24/7 operations center for human validation. "Once that's validated, it'll be sent on to the fire managers and responders," Baker said. Panel's materials provided to the committee indicate the system can rotate every 60 seconds and trigger rapid detection and location triangulation.
Chief Dan Evers (Casper Mountain Fire Department) described two examples the committee received in handouts: the Muddy Fire and a vehicle fire on Oct. 3. Evers said Panel detected the Muddy Fire and that the local dispatch page to his department arrived roughly nine minutes later; in that interval Evers said the fire grew to about 23 acres and burned uphill in dry conditions. He said the earlier, triangulated detection helped get responders to the correct location faster than the initial public report.
"From when it had been detected by Panel to when it had been called into us, I would say it had eaten 23 acres in that 9 minutes," Evers said. On the Oct. 3 vehicle-fire incident, Evers said the camera alert allowed responders to go directly to the precise location and control the blaze under an acre, preserving resources.
Panel representatives said the system was able to detect small smokes and reduce time-to-notification, and that early detection can convert incidents that might otherwise grow into much larger wildfires into small, containable fires. Panel said its systems had already detected multiple incidents during the pilot and that the technology can be deployed with solar power and Starlink connectivity where cellular service is not available.
Why this matters: Faster and more precise detection can reduce the time between ignition and response, saving resources and lowering the risk that fires climb into heavier fuels. Local responders described the pilot as a force multiplier in areas with limited human observation.
Michaela Baker, government affairs manager for Panel AI, described a two-year pilot launched in coordination with State Forestry and noted that high-definition cameras scan 360 degrees and use artificial intelligence to detect smoke and alert a 24/7 operations center for human validation. "Once that's validated, it'll be sent on to the fire managers and responders," Baker said. Panel's materials provided to the committee indicate the system can rotate every 60 seconds and trigger rapid detection and location triangulation.
Chief Dan Evers (Casper Mountain Fire Department) described two examples the committee received in handouts: the Muddy Fire and a vehicle fire on Oct. 3. Evers said Panel detected the Muddy Fire and that the local dispatch page to his department arrived roughly nine minutes later; in that interval Evers said the fire grew to about 23 acres and burned uphill in dry conditions. He said the earlier, triangulated detection helped get responders to the correct location faster than the initial public report.
"From when it had been detected by Panel to when it had been called into us, I would say it had eaten 23 acres in that 9 minutes," Evers said. On the Oct. 3 vehicle-fire incident, Evers said the camera alert allowed responders to go directly to the precise location and control the blaze under an acre, preserving resources.
Panel representatives said the system was able to detect small smokes and reduce time-to-notification, and that early detection can convert incidents that might otherwise grow into much larger wildfires into small, containable fires. Panel said its systems had already detected multiple incidents during the pilot and that the technology can be deployed with solar power and Starlink connectivity where cellular service is not available.
Why this matters: Faster and more precise detection can reduce the time between ignition and response, saving resources and lowering the risk that fires climb into heavier fuels. Local responders described the pilot as a force multiplier in areas with limited human observation.
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