The State of Colorado, in collaboration with the US Forest Service, is conducting a pilot project to put internet-enabled cameras at key fire lookout locations around the state. This pilot is intended to test the ability of the cameras and this software to enhance situational awareness on wildfires. The cameras are not capable of doing automated detection of fires on their own, but can be used by a fire manager to get clarity on smoke reports and to monitor fire behavior. RCVFD has just been notified that two of these cameras overlap with our area and are available to the general public, so feel free to check them out!
From the FTS 360 site, you can watch any of the cameras that are in place. For your convenience I have put direct links to the two cameras that are of most interest to Rist Canyon below. In timelapse mode, an hour's worth of still images are run in a loop in about 30 seconds. Use this to see changing conditions over time. In live gallery mode, the camera will auto-update periodically (about 30 seconds) with a new live image. Use this mode to monitor ongoing conditions. DFPC can mask out private structures visible in these cameras, so if you see your house and want it blurred out, let me know and I will forward the request.
Thanks goes to Colorado DFPC, Larimer County, and the USFS for this major addition to the safety toolkits for our community.
