The Black Hills gambling town of Deadwood has installed five high-tech detectors atop ridges around town to control fires USAToday reports.”The FireAlert-DC units,made by Ambient,are about 6 inches around,20 inches high and sit on top of 12-foot poles.A sensor scans the full horizon every two minutes.When it detects a growing fire,the unit sends a signal to a satellite,which relays the information to the company’s dispatch center.It also calls the local 911 dispatcher and fire department.The range is up to six miles,depending on terrain, and they’re powered by sunlight so they don’t need electricity and are always working.That means if a lightning strike sparks a fire overnight,it can be detected long before the sun comes up ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ and spreads to a dangerous size,said Roger Goddard of Rapid City,who sold the units to Deadwood”.
Deadwood goes high-tech to control fires