PG&E's New Weather Stations, Hi-Def Cameras Will Monitor High Fire-Threat Areas 24/7
OAKLAND (KPIX) – By the end of 2019, PG&E plans to have 600 weather stations and 100 high-definition cameras in high fire-threat areas.
For residents who live in the Oakland Hills like Milt Brown, they can only hope it's another layer of protection.
"All of the survivors get nervous," said Brown. "I have hoses and sprinklers on my roof so if a fire starts I can protect my home."
Milt Brown lost his home in the Oakland Hills Firestorm in 1991 and he says the images never go away.
"The people who survived the fire are nervous but 90 percent of the people don't know there was a fire … they moved in "
Just down the hill from Brown, there is a new weather monitoring station perched in high fire zone area.
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PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian says all of the data from the weather stations and THE high-def cameras will be monitored 24/7 at the Wildfire Safety Operations Center in San Francisco and shared with agencies like Cal FIRE.
The data is critical in shutting down power.
Brown says what's critical now is having homeowners clear away brush, but he isn't seeing it in his fire-prone neighborhood.
"Twenty-seven years after the fire there wasn't a living thing," said Brown. "Now, look at all of the brush. There has been a history of fires here since the 1930s."
Still, Milt feels a little safer now that there is a fire station five minutes away, underground utilities and the new weather center with cameras monitoring and round-the-clock during the high-fire season, which is now.
