Cameras to help stop fires before they spread

Victoria is expanding its network of AI-powered bushfire cameras, using advanced technology to detect fires earlier and help keep communities safer. Minister for Agriculture Michaela Settle announced funding over the next three years to expand the bushfire detection camera network. The $3.8 million project is jointly funded with Hancock Victorian Plantations and Green Triangle Fire Alliance. Using AI, the cameras provide a 24-hour digital lookout, scanning the landscape for signs of smoke and fire and flagging potential fires for further checking. The seven existing AI-powered bushfire cameras will be bolstered by an additional 11 cameras to be rolled out in western and eastern Victoria by November 2027. They will give emergency services and land managers more time to respond and protect communities, property and critical infrastructure. While the cameras will be installed on private plantations in western and eastern Victoria, their reach is much greater. The network will provide coverage across more than 1.4 million hectares of land, including 211,000 hectares of plantation. More than 85 per cent of the monitored area is non-plantation land, providing early bushfire detection for nearby regional communities. The rollout builds on successful existing networks and industry-led pilot programs in regional Victoria. The existing cameras detected 40 fires during 2023–24 and 46 fires in 2024–25. The investment follows a Commonwealth and Victorian governments investment in a Remote Sensing Bushfire Detection trial to investigate the accuracy of commercially available AI bushfire detection technology. Victoria has the largest plantation forestry estate in Australia, accounting for around 23 per cent of the national plantation estate and 29 per cent of Australia's wood production. Protecting forest resources helps safeguard communities, regional jobs, businesses and future wood supply. Green Triangle Fire Alliance chair Anthony Walsh said the expansion of the camera network is a significant step forward in protecting plantation forests, neighbouring communities and valuable regional assets from the growing threat of bushfires. Hancock Victorian Plantations CEO Melanie Cook said this co-investment reflects their shared commitment to reducing the impact of bushfires across Victoria. "With advanced detection technology, we can identify fires earlier, and respond swiftly to help protect lives, livelihoods and plantation assets," Ms Cook said. "We depend on this resource to sustainably store carbon and produce timber to build homes and make wood fibre products we rely on every day.”