Bushfire detection just got a little bit easier with the help of AI cameras

A pilot program at Gippsland’s Delburn windfarm has been using the technology since 2023.

Author

Jacob Wallace
February 27, 2026

In the 1920s, Australian bushfire detection relied on humans sitting in elevated towers for long stretches of time, armed with binoculars, tasked to watch out for signs of fires.

Gippsland’s first purpose-built bushfire tower, the Stringers Knob Fire Spotting Tower, was constructed in 1941 in response to Black Friday bushfires of 1939.

Bushfire detection has come a long way since then, and includes surveillance drones and satellite imagery. But a new technology is being introduced – and it’s already improving response times around the country.  

What happened: In December 2023, Australian-founded company Pano AI installed two of its fire detecting cameras at the site of the Delburn windfarm to survey the surrounding landscape.

  • The project was developed in collaboration with the Country Fire Authority (CFA), Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), and HVP Plantations to improve early detection times.

Pano AI cameras on top of a meteorological tower.

What windfarm? The 33-turbine Delburn windfarm, Victoria’s first publicly owned windfarm operated by the State Electricity Commission (SEC), began construction in January and is expected to be finished in 2028.

  • When it’s completed the farm will include three of the fire detection cameras installed on three meteorological masts around the wind farm.

While the project is not completed, two fire detecting cameras were installed at the site on vantage points, which give them a 30 kilometre radius view of the surrounding landscape.

The view radius of the Pano AI cameras at the Delburn Windfarm.

A SEC spokesperson told the Monitor: "The SEC Delburn Wind Farm incorporates numerous fire risk management measures designed to keep the local community and critical infrastructure safe."

"Each turbine’s built-in fire detection and suppression system, combined with fire water tanks, and other measures, forms part of a comprehensive Fire Mitigation and Management Plan approved by CFA."

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These aren’t just any old cameras: The cameras are highly specialised devices that are installed at high vantage points. They can scan a 360 degree radius for smoke and other signs of fire.

  • The Pano cameras use GPS and AI technology that can very precisely provide the co-ordinates of smoke to first responders.

  • The camera software is trained on footage of bushfires to help it recognise the early-stage characteristics of bushfire smoke and heat.

  • The cameras operate 24hrs/day using visual detection during daylight hours and infra-red technology at night.

An example of the AI system detecting a fire in a forestry plantation in the US.

Wendy Farmer, a member of the environmental group Friends of the Earth, visited the site of the windfarm to hear about the cameras.

Farmer told the Monitor: “The camera basically senses that first sight of any smoke much faster than the human eye can, it's quite exciting.”

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How do they alert authorities?

Once a fire has been detected the data is verified by trained staff to reduce false alarms, and alerts are automatically sent to emergency services, including CFA, who can review the footage before deciding on the best response.

  • The footage can also be used by Victoria Police arson investigators to look into suspicious fires.