{"id":1555,"date":"2026-06-05T14:35:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1555"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:35:39","slug":"how-ai-cameras-help-identify-wildfires-faster-across-southern-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1555","title":{"rendered":"How AI cameras help identify wildfires faster across southern Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – With dry brush across southern Arizona keeping wildfire risk top of mind, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is turning to artificial intelligence to help spot trouble early \u2014 before smoke turns into a fast-moving fire.<\/p>\n

Read more Innocent woman killed at gas station after suspects fire up to 80 shots into car, police say<\/a><\/p>\n

The technology is called Pano AI. <\/p>\n

It resembles a standard security camera mounted high on communication towers. But these units are designed specifically for wildfire detection, capturing high-quality video with 360-degree coverage to continuously scan the landscape of rural regions.<\/p>\n

The AI system is trained to identify visual warning signs such as smoke or flames, then send alerts for review. TEP says those notifications still require human confirmation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where the people come in as well because these alerts have to go to a real call center where professionals get to look at that information and make the final judgement on whether it\u2019s an event or not,\u201d said TEP Manager of Asset Management Jeremy Erlacher.<\/p>\n

TEP is currently managing six Pano AI cameras as part of its wildfire mitigation plan \u2014 two in southern Arizona and four in the Gila National Forest. According to the Arizona Corporation Commission, more than 51 Pano AI stations are positioned across the state through a multi-agency collaboration, with a goal of 88 active stations by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

TEP says the cameras can provide crucial minutes of warning that help responders move faster. Erlacher pointed to a recent example near Springerville.<\/p>\n

Read more Paw-some rescue: Firefighters free puppy stuck in wheel rim in Surprise<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRecently there was an event near Springerville, the Corral Fire, and the system picked it up, did the notifications and the emergency responder who was notified typically would\u2019ve been off duty at that time, they wouldn\u2019t have heard about it \u2018til much later,\u201d Erlacher said. \u201cSo, that\u2019s a great example of that immediate or very quick notification, allowing resources to be dispatched and prevent the growth of a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

TEP says the goal is to get ahead of any harm occurring to the public and wildlife. The utility says that mission is a major reason it\u2019s using the cameras \u2014 to help prevent damage before it starts.<\/p>\n

TEP is currently in a six-month pilot program and hopes the cameras will play a key role during this wildfire season.<\/p>\n

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Read more Police: Nephew killed uncle in Peoria before taking his own life in Payson<\/a><\/p>\n

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AI wildfire-detection cameras speed up emergency response, and help prevent harm to the public and wildlife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nHow AI cameras help identify wildfires faster across southern Arizona - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1555\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How AI cameras help identify wildfires faster across southern Arizona - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AI wildfire-detection cameras speed up emergency response, and help prevent harm to the public and wildlife.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1555\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T14:35:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"How AI cameras help identify wildfires faster across southern Arizona\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T14:35:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555\"},\"wordCount\":485,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7b312611011fc55ba74376d98dbe9901.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1555\",\"name\":\"How AI cameras help identify wildfires faster across southern Arizona - 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