The Minns Labor Government is preparing state forests to be better monitored and protected from fires with the roll out of Australia's largest early detection smart camera network mostly across central and southern NSW.
Early fire detection cameras will be installed across the State forest fire tower network improving firefighting response across NSW State forests, National Parks and privately-owned land.
Powered by artificial intelligence, these cameras scan the landscape, track changes in pixel colour detecting smoke columns, delivering real-time alerts to fire crews and allowing rapid fire response.
Forestry Corporation NSW has partnered with Pano AI to install the cameras at 22 strategic locations in major softwood growing regions, covering 1.2 million hectares of land with most located in southern NSW, the central west and a few sites in the mid north coast.
Key regions monitored by the cameras include Tumut, Moss Vale, Bombala, Walcha and Bathurst, including three wind farm development zones near Bathurst and Tumut.
Research shows that 80-85% of the area monitored by Forestry Corporation's fire towers also includes surrounding private property and public lands providing a significant and wide-reaching community benefit.
In regions like Bathurst, tower operators detect and report more than half of all fires, often placing the first call to emergency services across these land tenures.
Over the past two decades, some 70,000 hectares of softwood forests in NSW have been impacted by fire.
With State forests producing enough timber each year to build 40,000 new homes, strengthening early fire detection is critical to safeguarding the state's timber supply.
The fire detection technology integrates AI-powered detection into the traditional fire tower network combined with advanced geospatial insights to understand the full context of each fire detected.
The technology has been extensively trialled in the US, South Africa and Europe and trained to local conditions here in Australia.
The initiative is an investment of up to $1.4 million over 5 years.
Minister for Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
"These cameras will assist our firefighting agencies to protect critical forest plantation assets as well as neighbouring communities, national parks and privately-owned agricultural land, coming online soon before the start of the summer bushfire fire risk period," Ms Moriarty said.
"By integrating AI-powered detection into our fire tower network, we're enhancing traditional firefighting methods with cutting-edge technology that delivers real-time intelligence and faster response times."
"This rollout directly responds to the NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry's call for greater investment in remote fire detection following the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires."
"It's a proactive step toward building a more resilient future for our state."
Local MP for Monaro, and Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan said:
"Our soft wood plantations are a vital asset for communities like Bombala and Tumut, not to mention their importance in providing building materials across NSW.
Providing greater fire protection means protection for local jobs as well as for neighbouring lands and assets.
This is exciting new technology and it is great to see it being rolled out to help our firefighters get a step ahead in taking on bushfires."
Forestry Corporation's Land and Management & Innovation Manager, Jamie Carter said:
"This is a significant milestone after four years of trialling and refining our approach to early fire detection."
"Following the significant impact of the 2019-2020 Black Summer fires where 25% of the pine plantation estate was burnt, Forestry Corporation has focused on aligning technological advancement with the needs of the NSW softwood estate."
"This solution provides a critical edge in the crucial first 30 minutes after ignition, which is hugely important from a firefighting perspective."
"This technology won't replace our highly skilled fire tower operators, but it's a powerful addition to our early detection suite. We're proud to lead the way in this field," Mr Carter said.
Pano AI's Head of Australia GTM, Andrew Prolov said:
"Pano's solution is trained on billions of images from diverse landscapes, micro-climates, and seasons across Australia and internationally," Mr Prolov said.
"By combining AI detection with advanced geospatial insights, it will help Forestry Corporation understand the full context of each fire detected," he said.
