New mapping tech makes firefighting more proactive

On this week’s Priorities Podcast, Kern County, California, Deputy Fire Chief Zachary Wells and Ryan Lanclos, director of national government and public safety solutions at Esri,​ say ALERTCalifornia’s new map layer  strengthens emergency management and improves community safety. The wildfire-monitoring program from University of California San Diego​ provides instant access to live camera feeds across ​California, aiding in early fire detection and speeding up emergency response. Wells said the new map layer, which displays each camera’s location and image feed, is helping to shift firefighting from reactive to proactive​. “The state of California is extremely large. Each county is big, and we only have so many firefighters​, engines, hand crews, helicopters ​and air tankers.​ So adopting tools like ​ALERTCalifornia gives you that confidence that you have the resources​ strategically placed,” Wells says.

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