Douglas County debuts new helicopter, AI tools to fight wildfires

Douglas County personnel this week established off their newest tools for detecting and stamping out wildfires including a firefighting helicopter and artificial intelligence-powered cameras Related Articles Man pleads guilty to starting Bucktail fire in Montrose County by trying to cremate dog As Colorado wildfires worsen Sen John Hickenlooper s bill aims to reduce risks But it worries several environmentalists Grass fire burning along I- near RTD station under control functionaries say Suspect arrested in Summit County wildfire that closed I- Bipartisan vote kills governor s plan to lower homeowners insurance costs in Colorado Commissioners in January inked a million deal that included access to the helicopter which can dump as much as gallons of water at a time according to a county news release The aircraft took flight Friday at a showcase organized by the county Commissioner Abe Laydon declared in the release that Douglas County is now the only Colorado county with its own dedicated firefighting helicopter and crew on standby year-round The county also promoted cameras backed by Pano AI utility which have been credited with the timely discovery and containment of a wildfire sparked in the Bennett Mountain area above Strontia Springs Reservoir last year We re not waiting for tragedy to strike before we act Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly commented in the release We re building a wildfire response system that uses every tool available to protect lives property and our natural materials Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day