AI-powered bushfire detection system switched on ahead of fire danger season

A new high-tech fire detection system has been activated at Mount Crawford Forest ahead of the 2026-27 fire danger season.

It’s the first time this technology has operated in a peri-urban area in South Australia after demonstrating its value as a fire detection tool across the Limestone Coast over the past three fire danger seasons.

The new fire detection camera represents a new milestone in the strategic partnership between the South Australian Government, Forestry SA and emergency fire services including the South Australian Country Fire Service, as the AI-powered technology comes online for the first time in a particularly fire-prone section of the southern Barossa and northern Adelaide Hills.

The camera is located on an upgraded fire tower within Forestry SA’s Mount Crawford estate. It captures ultra-high-definition panoramic vision that is fed into a system that combines AI, satellite technology and human verification to identify potential smoke and fire activity.

This system, delivered by bushfire detection and intelligence provider Pano AI, provides real-time alerts and intelligence on fire location, behaviour and proximity to people, assets and firefighting resources, supporting more informed decision-making by emergency services and land managers.

It builds on the successful implementation of eight AI-powered bushfire detection cameras across the Limestone Coast forestry region, funded by the Malinauskas Government and managed by the Green Triangle Fire Alliance.

The Limestone Coast camera network detected nearly 90 unplanned fires over the past three fire danger seasons, delivering valuable intel to fire responders and demonstrating its value as an early bushfire detection system.

The newly operational AI camera unit at Mount Crawford Forest provides the South Australian Government with a valuable opportunity to assess how the technology performs in a more complex peri-urban landscape, where plantations, native vegetation, farms, businesses, infrastructure and residential communities are closely interconnected.

As the South Australian Government continues to explore how AI can potentially strengthen public sector operations and service delivery, it is also establishing a Royal Commission into Artificial Intelligence.

This nation-leading inquiry will hear evidence and receive submissions from a broad cross-section of the South Australian community, including business, industry bodies, unions, technology developers, academics, independent experts and representatives of creative industries.

Terms of Reference will be developed focusing on the economic and social opportunities and challenges that AI will bring to South Australia, in particular:

• Policy and regulatory settings, both at a state level and those that need to be managed nationally;
• Impacts and opportunities for education including schools and higher education (tertiary and vocational);
• Impacts and opportunities on public services provided by the state including health;
• Impacts and opportunities for South Australia’s skills and workforce; and
• Opportunities related to AI related infrastructure including the interrelationship with energy transformation, water usage and associated impacts (such as electricity grid implications).

South Australia has already led the nation in seizing the opportunities presented by, and managing the risks of, Artificial Intelligence.

The State was the first to establish a Cabinet Minister for Artificial Intelligence, has established the Office for Artificial Intelligence, has developed a Data Centre Strategy, is home to the Australian Institute for Machine Learning at Lot Fourteen, and home to the Responsible AI Research Centre.

Dates for the 2026-27 fire danger season typically vary by location and will be announced by the CFS at a later date.

Visit the country fire service for more information on fire warnings, incidents and advice on how to plan and prepare.

Click here for smart camera footage of unplanned fires detected in the Limestone Coast between 2023 and 2026, and images of the cameras and fire towers in that region.