Big Sky Fire Department extinguishes small blaze near Moonlight Basin
By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A lightning strike was the likely cause of a small fire on Monday evening, Aug. 12, just west of the Moonlight Basin golf course in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
A tree was torched, or fully aflame, according to Big Sky Fire Department Deputy Chief Seth Barker. Within minutes, a camera on the summit of Lone Mountain—part of a system powered by AI, installed in 2021—detected the smoke and notified Big Sky Fire Department personnel just before 7 p.m. Local firefighters responded with their type three engine, an off-road vehicle.
“We got eyes on it really quickly and realized it was not a false alarm,” Barker told EBS in a phone call Tuesday. Thankfully, Monday’s fire event was “pretty simple,” and responders quickly extinguished it. Barker said it’s helpful how much rain the area has received in the past two weeks.
The Pano AI camera technology features a 360-degree camera system with 30x tactical zoom—privacy mechanisms are built into the software—and was installed through a collaboration between the Yellowstone Club, Big Sky Resort, Big Sky Resort Area District and BSFD.
It’s also not the gadget’s first save. In 2021, the new camera detected a plume of smoke from the Shedhorn Fire in the Taylor Fork drainage, helping to ultimately contain that fire to 74 acres.
In 2023, Barker added, “We had a tremendous stop over in Taylor Fork… It probably would have burned for several hours and been very terrible if the camera didn’t pick it up.”
Barker said the community is “extraordinarily lucky” to have the Pano AI cameras as a result of the public-private partnership.
A Facebook post from BSFD added gratitude to BSRAD.
“A big thanks to Big Sky Resort Area District for their continued funding of our wildfire detection camera program. They save vital time when detecting and locating fires which helps keep them small,” BSFD stated.
New technology ‘a no-brainer’
Kevin Germain, BSRAD board member and VP of Moonlight Basin, told EBS the Pano AI system is “a no-brainer” and an important preventative resource.
“I, as one [BSRAD] board member, really recognize that wildfire is probably our greatest risk as a community that’s living on the wildland urban interface,” Germain told EBS in a phone call.
Germain worked as a wildland firefighter throughout college. He speculated that because the fire ignited near dusk, the fire may not have been located until Tuesday morning if not for the technology, unless the Forest Service sent a flight to locate it.
“It would sure be speculation, but… I think [the technology] easily made, call it a 12-hour difference on response,” Germain said. He added that if a similar event happened during a period of prolonged dry weather—like southwest Montana experienced in July—the fire might spread quickly.
Germain thanked Pano AI and the Big Sky Fire Department, namely Fire Chief Dustin Tetrault, who pushed for the technology.
“Those guys made quick work of it,” Germain said.
EBS spoke with Fire Chief Dustin Tetrault about resources available to help the community prevent and prepare for wildfire emergency, including the Fire Adapted Big Sky Wildfire Hub. Read the story here.
