By Annie O’Neill EDITORIAL INTERN
Big Sky Fire Department now has three AI-powered wildfire detection cameras watching over the area, and officials say the addition gives crews a meaningful edge as fire season continues.
The department’s panel cameras sit on Lone Peak, Pioneer Mountain and, as of this year, Cinnamon Mountain. Interim Fire Chief Jeff Bolton said that while one AI-powered camera can point fire crews in the general direction of a fire, three can pinpoint its location.
“Now we can triangulate that specific location, and we can plug it into our GPS and have, within several feet, an idea of where it’s at,” Bolton said during last week’s BSRAD meeting.
That precision matters in the canyon where minutes determine whether a fire stays small or spreads. Bolton said the expanded system has already helped crews catch at least one fire early in recent weeks. Two of the three units were funded by the Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD), according to Bolton.
Getting the Cinnamon camera online wasn’t easy. The remote site made power a persistent problem, and the camera went down within 48 hours of installation. Because the location also hosts radio infrastructure used countywide and by the U.S. Forest Service, the outage briefly disrupted canyon communications. Gallatin County and the Yellowstone Club flew in batteries by helicopter, and Big Sky Fire’s own fuel crew helped haul equipment to get it back online. The department expects to keep refining the site’s solar and battery setup through the winter.
The technology isn’t foolproof. Cameras can mistake a large dust plume for smoke, and firefighters still have to make the final call. But Bolton said the payoff is worth it.
“It is super impactful for us,” Bolton said, thanking BSRAD for funding the camera program.
