Written in collaboration with Tri-State Generation & Transmission
Fire seasons are growing longer and more intense across the West. To help face these mounting challenges, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association partnered with San Isabel Electric to purchase and install two AI-enabled cameras that can spot smoke early and alert the correct parties within seconds.
“Safety is our top priority, whether it’s personal safety or fire safety,” says SIEA General Manager Ryan Elarton. “It’s something we prioritize every day, and you see it in our budget and wildfire mitigation plan.”
EARLY ALERTS, SAFER DEPLOYMENTS
The cameras are part of a regional push to speed up detection and enable precise, safer crew deployments. AI-based wildfire detection platforms like Pano continuously scan the landscape with 360-degree cameras to identify smoke and push alerts with precise coordinates to responders after human verification. Many systems also layer satellite imagery and weather data to improve situational awareness. That means faster decisions and better protection for crews working near energized infrastructure.
“We can pinpoint a location and start planning how we’re going to fight that fire before we’re ever there. Before the cameras, we had to send a crew just to drive around and find the fire first. That delays response,” says Tim Paulson, a third-year SIEA lineman apprentice who also serves as chief of the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Protection District.
SIEA uses the cameras for visual awareness of fire activity that could affect the electric grid and as an aid in public communication.
Utilities are one of the first contacts fire agencies make when responding to fires. Electric utilities may be asked to shut off power to areas, isolate a section of line to prevent outages for radio towers and critical infrastructure, or to help clear debris or damaged equipment in areas firefighters need to access.
The cameras can also help emergency responders and the co-op get accurate information out to the public faster. Sharing information with the public quickly can most importantly save lives, but it can also cut down on false information and rumors.
“As a firefighter and working on a line crew, I see how important it is for utilities and fire departments to work together,” says Paulson. “The better they work together, the safer the community is and the safer the firefighters are.”
The cameras were installed during the fall of 2025. One is located in the Weston area, and another is located in the Starkville area.
MULTI-LAYERED MITIGATION
This project is one facet of a multi-layered wildfire mitigation strategy. Together, Tri-State and SIEA combine science-based monitoring and alerts with risk reduction and operational controls. These measures are designed for a single purpose: keep crews and communities safe while maintaining reliable power.
Wildfire risk isn’t going away, but with AI-powered detection, year-round mitigation, and cooperative-driven training, SIEA and Tri-State are strengthening rural fire response across southern Colorado and setting an example for how the grid and the fire service can work as one to protect the many.
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