By Spencer Wilson | CBS Colorado
After a wildfire broke out at an unattended campsite just east of a popular Breckenridge neighborhood, local firefighters are praising a new tool for their quick reaction to get the flames put out before they became too much to handle.
Aside from growing in a place where wildfire mitigation had taken place only a year and a half ago, the Wellington wildfire was spotted by a Pano AI camera, financially supported by Xcel Energy.
The camera sits on a cell tower with a 360-degree view and submits an alert to emergency crews if it notices smoke. While that has resulted in a few false alarms in Summit County, this was the first instance where a wildfire was caught early, and kept to only one-eighth of an acre, firefighters said, thanks to the camera’s early notice.