Legislators hear pitch for AI smoke-detection cameras and 10 new fuel crews to speed wildfire response

Senator Owens and Jamie Barnes (director, Forestry, Fire & State Lands) presented a request to expand early-wildfire detection capability and to fund ten full-time crews to respond to initial ignitions. Panel AI representative Mikaela Baker described deployments that pair rotating high-definition cameras with AI-based smoke detection, human verification and alerting to dispatch centers.

Baker said deployed systems can detect smoke in early stages and route alerts to verification centers where humans confirm detections before notifying local dispatch and fire managers. She told the committee that early detection frequently allows responses that contain fires while they remain small — preventing incidents from becoming hundreds or thousands of acres — and that the technology must be paired with response capacity to be effective.

The appropriation request described roughly $1.5 million ongoing for camera and platform costs and about $1 million for staffing (ten full-time fuel-crew personnel), though committee members asked for breakdowns on recurring technology fees, equipment purchases and startup vs ongoing costs. Forestry representatives said the state seeks to expand coverage incrementally and recruit locally for crew positions, including outreach to local colleges and FFA programs.

Members voiced support for prevention but pressed for details about procurement, recurring vendor fees and how the crew positions would be sustained. No final appropriation was recorded in the transcript.