Home

Esri Adds California Live Camera Feeds to ArcGIS for Better Awareness of Wildfires and Other Disasters

via Business Wire

New Map Layer Provides Critical Real-Time Information to Emergency Responders and the Public

Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, and the University of California San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia program have launched a new ready-to-use map layer that provides instant access to live camera feeds across California. This collaboration comes at a critical time, as the state faces increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters, particularly wildfires, that threaten public safety, environmental health, and economic stability. The new layer makes ALERTCalifornia’s extensive network of natural hazard monitoring cameras easily accessible to emergency responders and the public.

Freely available in the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to the public, this map layer provides access to more than 1,150 high-definition, pan-tilt-zoom cameras and sensor arrays within ALERTCalifornia’s growing network. The layer shows each camera’s location, real-time viewshed, along with the camera’s current image. Organizations can add the ALERTCalifornia feeds into their own maps and dashboards, directly within ArcGIS, Esri’s enterprise geospatial platform. The cameras, strategically placed using Esri’s advanced mapping technology, provide continuous real-time imagery updated every 15 seconds. The map and camera feeds can also be viewed on the ALERTCalifornia public website, and are a valuable resource for preparation, response, and recovery from various natural disasters.

"This layer significantly enhances emergency responders' ability to monitor the landscape, detect and track fires, and offers them critical insights that can help save lives and protect communities," said Ryan Lanclos, director of Public Safety and National Government Solutions at Esri. "Capabilities like this can also be used by the public to help them prepare for an emergency. We are thrilled to work with ALERTCalifornia to bring this essential information to support public safety officials as well as California residents.”

Drawing on more than 20 years of groundbreaking research at UC San Diego, the ALERTCalifornia initiative combines real-time data with advanced AI to quickly detect smoke and other anomalies. This enhances response strategies for natural disasters, including the state's frequent wildfires, atmospheric rivers, and landslides. Not only will this system equip emergency responders with improved information to mobilize resources, but it will also provide a critical tool for proactive monitoring and recreation.

"The ALERTCalifornia project provides state-of-the-art sensor technology to support data-driven decisions before, during, and after extreme wildfires. The real-time data have the greatest impact when they are available on multiple platforms such as Esri, CAL FIRE Incidents website, and ALERTCalifornia.org,” said Neal Driscoll, ALERTCalifornia director and geoscientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. “During events, our array of cameras and sensors provide confirmation of ignition, actionable real-time data to quickly scale fire resources, help evacuations through enhanced situational awareness, and monitor fire behavior. These sensors are new tools in the toolbox that allow data to drive firefighting decisions.”

With the ability to perform 360-degree sweeps, ALERTCalifornia’s camera network can view as far as 60 miles on a clear day and 120 miles on a clear night. The cameras’ viewshed capabilities also account for terrain and topology, providing a dynamic visual representation of the areas being monitored.

Emergency managers and first responders can use the new Living Atlas ALERTCalifornia layer directly in their ArcGIS applications to get real-time situational awareness. This enables users to access critical data when they need it most, helping them monitor and respond to natural disasters more effectively. The layer can be used with a variety of ArcGIS applications and maps, ensuring that the data is not only available but also actionable.

"Firefighters in California rely on real-time data to enhance situational awareness and make informed decisions during all-hazard incidents,” said Zachary Wells, ALERTCalifornia deputy director of operations and deputy chief at Kern County Fire Department. “Integrating ALERTCalifornia data into Esri Living Atlas will increase firefighters’ access to imagery across various applications and platforms they’ve integrated into their daily operations.”

Learn more about the latest updates and how to use the ALERTCalifornia Live Cameras layer in the ArcGIS Living Atlas.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in hundreds of thousands of organizations globally, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofit institutions, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial technology and analytics, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions that leverage a geographic approach to solving some of the world’s most complex problems by placing them in the crucial context of location. Visit us at esri.com.

Copyright © 2025 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, ArcGIS, The Science of Where, StoryMaps, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.

Contacts