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AI cameras help detect wildfires faster across France and nearby countries
In France’s Gironde, AI-assisted cameras can identify fires up to 20 km away and reduce false alarms, with alerts sent to firefighters’ phones.
Wildfires burning across France, Spain and Portugal have forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes, as firefighters and aircraft battle blazes in forests and countryside.
In France, firefighters say detection methods are evolving even if fire-fighting tactics have not changed much, with AI-assisted camera systems replacing human lookouts in hard-hit areas such as the Gironde. BBC Business reports that the shift has reduced false alarms, because the systems can distinguish smoke from dust thrown up by farm activity, and can detect fires as far as 20 km away.
In Gironde, the system has been installed by Midgard, while other regions use a French start-up, FireTracking. According to BBC Business, once a fire is detected the system alerts firefighters on their phones, where they can view live camera footage, a map of the fire location, nearby housing and an expected-fire spread simulation based on conditions like weather and humidity.
FireTracking’s CEO Jean-Simon Chaudier said the goal is to save critical minutes, citing feedback from firefighters that AI detected seven fires 15 minutes before the first phone call. He added that earlier intervention can mean the difference between limited damage and a larger catastrophe, including when planners decide whether to dispatch water tanks or planes such as Canadairs.