SAN DIEGO — Years of living through weather events in the mountains of San Diego County has taught Syncletica Maestas that a little preparation helps keep her family safe and comfortable.

What You Need To Know

  • UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia camera network watches for wildfires all over California

  • The artificial intelligence tool improves firefighting capabilities through the use of actionable, real-time data

  • AlertCalifornia says they have more than 1100 cameras across California and more than 100 cameras in San Diego

  • Emergency personnel say the days of sending crews in blind to fight fires are over

“I’m probably going to lose power this afternoon,” she said. “So I’m ready!”

Maestas lives in Descanso, an area that frequently experiences public safety power shutoffs to prevent wildfires during high wind events. She has her backup generator ready to go and has been securing her patio furniture so it doesn’t blow away.

“It’s a little scary. I think we’ve learned that we need to just prepare for it and kind of respect nature,” Maestas said. “So you really just become in tune with what’s going on and as long as you’re prepared, I think it helps a lot.”

Suzann Leininger is an intel specialist for CAL Fire, sharing the command center with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. They are using UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia camera network to watch for wildfires all over California, using AI to aid firefighters.

“It’s really made for a nice, helpful response,” Leininger said. “There’s even been times that we’ll see the smoke, or the smoke will be detected by AI before a 911 call ever comes in.”

A fire broke out on Jan. 7 in Julian during a Santa Ana wind event. AlertCalifornia cameras picked up the smoke via AI technology and alerted emergency responders immediately. Leininger says just 3.5 acres burned before firefighters were able to put it out.

AlertCalifornia says they have more than 1100 cameras across California and more than 100 cameras in San Diego, with that number always growing.

Leininger says the days of sending crews in blind to fight fires are over.

“They can look at a link to the camera and go ‘hey, wow, there’s a good column going’ or ‘you know, it’s just a little bit of smoke.’ You still want to respond in the same urgency, but you have a better idea of what you’re up against,” Leininger said.  

Maestas encourages everyone to evaluate what they need to do to their homes to stay as safe as possible.

“It makes me feel confident in knowing that I can still come home and I’m going to be comfortable and I’m going to be safe and my family is going to be safe,” she said. “We should all be prepared and have a plan in San Diego, because anything can happen.”

ALERTCalifornia and CAL FIRE’s Fire Detection AI Program was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023.