 October 23rd 2019 shortly after 9 p.m. the largest wildfire in Sonoma County history ignites. There it is that's the start of the concave fire and you can see smoke coming off of this. Within minutes smoke from the fire was spotted on a nearby camera. 920 we spotted the fire we spotted ignition. Dr. Neil Driscoll is behind that camera. Driscoll a professor at UC San Diego. Let's zoom in. He is also one of the leading forces behind a network of over 300 high definition cameras across California called alert wildfire. Since we installed the cameras in San Diego County in 2017 there's been no loss of life due to fire. These point tilt zoom are PTZ cameras with near-infrared fire detection have helped spot over 600 wildfires in their earliest stages. What these cameras are are modern fire towers. They allow us to look from high points and determine if there's fire. The early detection and 24-7 visuals give firefighters and first responders situational awareness like never before. One thing that we actually have learned is that it's not about where does the fire burn right now at a very large scale but where does the fire be 30 minutes from now an hour from now because then you can stage and prepare and respond. Every one of these cameras and locations are obviously different some of them like this one here at Palomar Mountain State Park in San Diego County have the ability to see 60 miles on a clear day 120 miles on a clear night. That picture says a I mean it speaks a thousand words. Brian Finnecy has seen firsthand the value of the alert wildfire camera network. Now people say well a few minutes really make that big a difference and we in the fire services you know absolutely makes a difference if that air tanker that helicopter that fire engine gets there just that much faster it makes a huge difference. It's a great tool in the toolbox it become I would call it even an essential tool in the toolbox. You're seeing that and pulling it up you see fire spread it also can give you an indication if you've got property or you live in the area it's just it's another way to empower you with regards to your preparedness level. I had two relatives not one but two who lived in paradise. One of the earliest supporters of the alert wildfire camera network former California Governor Gray Davis a long time advocate of California based research and technology. Everyone who experienced the fire in paradise will remember it every day they're on this planet but you want to spare people that horror and anguish save their lives and ideally not submit this not submit them to this in the first place. The cameras are the best bet to make that happen. There you go that's great. That's the east facing camera from right here right now. The alert wildfire camera network is constantly looking to add more cameras more visuals to get an early start on the next fire event. We have now we're north of 300 cameras would like to populate California with about a thousand cameras. This is a game changer and something that fire chiefs know exactly what they're dealing with before they were dealing with second and third-hand accounts now they could see for themselves. The public can get on its alert wildfire.org all lower case all one word. For all of us at Cal OES I'm Brian May.