Having seen roughly 1,200 since January, Arizona is no stranger to wildfires. This week, the federal government announced a new $20 million initiative to combat them in the western U.S. using advanced satellite technology and artificial intelligence.
The goal is to improve emergency response times with more precise data on conditions and smoke patterns.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration partnered with the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to track and detect wildfires using satellites, supported by funds from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
They’ll use satellites to gather information that a system using artificial intelligence analyzes to quickly and automatically detect wildfires, and then display the fire's location, intensity, and other relevant information on a dashboard for forecasters and land managers.
The satellites will also be used for air quality forecasting and to help communities respond to smoke-related health effects.
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"Suppression is always going to be there," Chief Brian Fennessy told the Mountain West News Bureau. "But we're not going to suppress our way out of this situation." -
A new analysis of public federal workforce data shows about 5,800 fewer workers at public lands agencies in 2025 compared to the year before. -
Arizona Public Service has nearly 40 active AI smoke-detection cameras and plans to have 71 by summer's end, and the state’s fire agency has deployed seven of its own. -
Smoke from the fire near Buckeye has blown into the rest of the Valley since it started burning Saturday. -
Kathleen Muldoon is a professor at an Arizona medical school who lives in north Peoria not too far from where the Hazen wildfire is burning. And she has Valley fever.
