Firefighters Install Cameras to Monitor Wildfire Activity Across California

Perched at the front line of California’s fight against wildfires is a 41-year-old named Colby Nicholson and three other roaming MacGyvers in “Alert California” work shirts. On this warm June morning, they were on a cliff 1,500 feet above the vineyards and small towns of Napa Valley. Several major fires had ripped through this area in the past decade. Mr. Nicholson and the others peered past the toes of their boots. They pointed toward a winding, dead-end road connecting houses and steep driveways in a scrubby, miles-long chasm called Soda Canyon. That was the blind spot that local fire officials wanted to see. “Let’s put it here,” Mr. Nicholson said. By day’s end, there was a 12-foot tripod holding two cameras inside protective globes, powered by solar panels and battery packs. The cameras were connected by satellite Wi-Fi and joined a growing network of nearly 1,300 remote, unblinking eyes on the most fire-prone landscapes of California . These are the fire spotters of today — remote, high-tech cameras attached to communication towers, old lookouts or purpose-built tripods on high vantage points. Alert California’s viewpoints have become a vital tool for firefighters and a ubiquitous presence in emergency coverage. Mr. Nicholson and his crew are the ones who put cameras in place and keep them running, so that everyone else can see. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .