On June 15, 2025, emergency responders in Douglas County, Colorado, received word of a remote wildfire sparked by a lightning strike in the Turtle Mountain area. The alert came not from a hiker or a lookout tower, but from one of our artificial intelligence-enabled Pano AI camera stations.
The 24/7, 360-degree ultra-high-definition camera had identified a smoke column in extremely dense forest canopy – a remote location that took ground responders two hours to reach on foot. However, armed with precise coordinates from the Pano AI camera, the Douglas County Office of Emergency Management was able to launch a firefighting helicopter that was overhead within 30 minutes of the alert. Within 45 minutes, crews were able to apply water to the fire, and within four hours the blaze was contained.
“Quick response is everything,” said Mike Alexander, the director of the Douglas County Office of Emergency Management. “When we're dealing with wildfire, minutes matter. And so, when we get water on the fire in minutes instead of hours, that directly relates to saving property, saving lives and saving watersheds.”
Amid more severe weather and drier conditions that heighten wildfire risk, Xcel Energy is making strategic investments in cutting-edge technology, including those Pano AI cameras, to protect our customers and communities. With these tools, we’re joining utilities and emergency responders across the country to bring the best available technologies to bear in our wildfire prevention efforts.
Building smarter situational awareness with AI and real-time data
At the heart of our wildfire prevention strategy is enhancing situational awareness by integrating advanced technologies. In Colorado, we’re expanding our network of proprietary weather stations to assess real time weather and environmental conditions to provide detailed local data on temperature, humidity, wind speed and moisture near our power lines and equipment. . This hyper-local data allows us to monitor conditions during high-risk fire periods with precision.
“We're in the business of preventing ignitions,” said Paul McGregor, vice president of Wildfire Risk Management for Xcel Energy. “So, what we really want to focus on is making sure that ignitions are not occurring or associated with our assets.”
To support this, we are also more than tripling our deployment of Pano AI camera stations, which can identify smoke plumes and potential fire starts within minutes, enabling faster response times that can mean the difference between a small incident and a catastrophic wildfire. The cameras are able to distinguish between actual fire threats and false alarms like dust clouds or fog, ensuring our emergency response teams receive accurate, actionable intelligence.
To support these technological capabilities, we’re also adding dedicated meteorology and fire science expertise dedicated to supporting our wildfire prevention program to our team. This helps ensure we can interpret and act on the wealth of data our systems provide.
Leveraging drones and LiDAR for strategic risk assessment
We’ve introduced drone inspections and are piloting using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) equipped helicopter patrols to support system inspections and risk assessments.
Drone are used to visually inspect power lines with 360-degree views to detect potential defects. Drone inspections offer several advantages over traditional methods: they can safely access difficult terrain, provide high-resolution imagery of equipment and power lines, and cover large areas efficiently. Meanwhile, LiDAR technology supports wind strength analyses which, in turn, help us understand where to focus maintenance and upgrade work.
This data-driven approach allows us to move from reactive maintenance to strategic, proactive risk mitigation. We can now identify, analyze, and prioritize equipment replacement or mitigation efforts based on comprehensive risk modeling rather than regular maintenance schedules.
Smart grid technology for faster response
When wildfire risk conditions arise, every second counts. That’s why we continue to improve the ability of our infrastructure to react to wildfire risk by installing advanced reclosers – a special type of circuit breaker that is designed to open and close rapidly – integrated with advanced technologies.
These advanced reclosers enable Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS), which allow power lines to remain in service during periods of high wildfire risk with additional protection settings enabled. When EPSS are activated, power lines are more sensitive and can stop the flow energy more quickly if an object touches the line.
Advanced reclosers also help break the electric system into smaller segments, allowing us to limit impacts to closely targeted areas and enabling our crews to identify defects and make repairs more rapidly. This helps minimize the size and duration of outages while maximizing safety.
Advanced risk modeling drives strategic investments
Underpinning all of these technological deployments is our use of refined wildfire risk modeling tools. These sophisticated systems, like Technosylva, analyze multiple data sources – weather conditions, wind speed, moisture levels and ground fuel conditions – to create comprehensive risk assessments and estimate where a wildfire might ignite and spread.
This modeling capability allows us to prioritize our investments strategically, focusing our most intensive mitigation efforts in higher risk areas. Whether it’s determining where to increase inspection frequency, where to deploy additional AI cameras, or where to upgrade an electric line with larger or covered wires, these tools ensure we’re making data-driven decisions that reduce wildfire risk.
Putting customers at the center
Technology also plays a crucial role in our customer support initiatives. We’re developing enhanced interactive web mapping tools that provide detailed, real-time information about areas impacted by power outages during emergency events. Our customer communication systems and processes provide targeted outreach, especially to customers operating critical facilities and those with medical needs.
For customers with medical needs and income qualified customers, we’re offering battery energy storage rebate programs, helping them maintain power during both unplanned outages and Public Safety Power Shutoffs, where power must be temporarily interrupted in a targeted area for a limited time to promote public safety.
Looking ahead: A technology-driven future
With the Colorado Public Utilities Commission’s approval of our 2025-2027 Wildfire Mitigation Plan, we’re taking our technological approach to wildfire prevention to the next level. By combining AI-powered detection systems, advanced weather monitoring, drone and LiDAR inspections, advanced reclosers, and sophisticated risk modeling, we’re creating a comprehensive defense against wildfire risk that’s both proactive and responsive.
This technology-first approach doesn’t just protect our electrical infrastructure – it protects the communities we serve. As we continue to refine and expand these capabilities, we’re setting a new standard for how utilities can leverage innovation to address the growing challenges of a changing climate.
Together, we’re not just adapting to new challenges – we’re using the best available technology to stay ahead of them, ensuring our communities can rely on safe, reliable electrical service even as wildfire risks continue to evolve.
For more information about Xcel Energy’s wildfire preparedness efforts, visit our Wildfire Preparedness webpage.