Starting this fall, a new network of high-tech web cameras could help first responders and government officials in Sonoma County respond more quickly to wildfires and decide how best to deploy their resources when major blazes ignite.
As proposed by the county Water Agency, the project would start as an eight-camera system, mostly located in the north county and aimed at the Lake Sonoma watershed, which could suffer catastrophic damage from a major fire in the area. One of the pan-tilt-zoom cameras would be located on Sonoma Mountain and two would be installed at the Pepperwood Preserve, where they would have eyes on some of the October burn scars.
“It provides a level of situational awareness that is absolutely needed going forward to address the new normal, which are these extreme weather events that drive fires to a different degree,” said Board of Supervisors chairman James Gore. “I’m very excited about this.”