How AI technology could be "a game changer" in fighting wildfires
CBSN
While many more people across the country are seeing the impact of wildfires and smoke, scientists are turning to the promise of big data, technology and collaboration to keep big fires from spreading.
"If you manage to stop this in the first couple of hours it's a lot easier to stop," said Dr. Ilkay Altintas, the founder and director of the WIFIRE Lab at University of California San Diego.
Pinpointing a fire quickly improves the chances of containing a blaze. Altintas and her team have developed a platform called Firemap designed to reduce the response time for attacking a wildfire.

Another winter storm may be headed toward the East Coast of the United States this weekend, on the heels of a powerful and deadly system that blanketed huge swaths of the country in snow and ice. The effects of that original storm have lingered for many areas in its path, and will likely remain as repeated bouts of Arctic air plunge downward from Canada and drive temperatures below freezing. Nikki Nolan contributed to this report. In:

Washington — The Senate is set to take a procedural vote Thursday morning on a package to fund the remaining government agencies and programs, with less than two days to avoid a partial government shutdown. But Democrats say they won't allow the package to move forward without reforms to immigration enforcement. Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.











