Fastened to power poles high above Mission Canyon, nine small devices — each resembling a miniature R2-D2 — have their collective eye on about 10 square miles of desiccated mountainside chaparral frighteningly close to busy residential neighborhoods.
They’re called FlameSniffers. Each unit can detect fire, smoke, and excessive heat, and if it does, it snaps a pic (or, at night, a thermal image) and instantly shoots it via text and email to the county’s emergency dispatch center and a handful of fire chiefs. FlameSniffers can also relay weather readings, including wind speed and direction, plus — with GPS-syncing beforehand — pinpoint firefighters on the ground.
Installed in the spring through a coordinated effort between the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Southern California Edison (which owns the power poles), and FlameSniffer reps (who provided the equipment free of charge), the sensors are the latest in frontline firefighting as Santa Barbara’s drought-parched front country enters peak fire season. During the warm days and nights of the next few months, sundowner winds typically gust with greater frequency and severity.