marin_fire_detecting_cameras_mount_vision
David Briggs

FIRE PREVENTION: Cameras that will watch for wildfires were installed last week on four Marin hilltops—Mount Vision (above), Big Rock Ridge, Mount Barnabe and Mount Tamalpais. Using mathematical algorithms to detect smoke and equipped with technology to distinguish smoke from fog, the cameras supplement ongoing volunteer daylight lookouts on Mount Barnabe. Not only will the cameras, which cost $207,000 but were donated to the county, catch fires earlier, but they will also provide data on the location of fires, which can be difficult to pinpoint in the deeper reaches of West Marin’s parks and preserves.