27 May
CORE has another resource in our work to protect members, employees and the grid from wildfires.
We have worked with FTS Inc. to join the Rocky Mountain Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) Network, which operates a series of shared cameras that monitor for wildfires and other threats. The network includes more than a dozen cameras in three states. Most of the cameras are in Colorado, and about half of those monitor the Front Range. CORE currently maintains one camera — on our Badger Mountain communications tower — and plans to install two more cameras in the near future. Each camera in the network has an effective viewing distance of 25 miles and can be remotely controlled to focus on a specific threat.
The PTZ network includes Colorado FireGuard, the state-managed program that provides early detection and detailed situational awareness for fire threats throughout Colorado. CORE’s financial support of the PTZ network also gives us access to FireGuard’s early detection alert system, the Colorado Wildfire Information Management System, and data collected from the Colorado Multi-Mission Aircraft program. Additional partners, including other utilities, continue to commit to the PTZ network and will add another eight to 12 cameras this summer.
Live feeds from cameras on the Rocky Mountain PTZ network can be viewed by the general public at fts360overwatch.com.