MENDOCINO CO., 3/31/26 — Two new wildfire early-detection cameras have been installed and are now active at Two Rock Lookout, a 30-foot tower on top of a forested summit approximately eight miles west of Willits. The images from the cameras are monitored by an AI system, and Cal Fire’s Howard Forest dispatch center will be notified of any sign of fire.
The Two Rock lookout tower was built in 1966 to house a person during the summer who would scan the landscape for signs of smoke. It was permanently closed in 1994, and in 2020 the tower was registered as a historical lookout.
Two Rock is in a prime location for cameras to fill current blind spots and cover a substantial portion of the county. The lookout shows east past Willits Valley, west all the way to the coast, into Brooktrails and south to Orr Springs.
Both camera views can be seen at ALERTCalifornia.org any time.
That’s great that these cameras will be early detection for fires. I wonder why the camera up at the top of the western hills in Ukiah went dark about 1-2 years ago. They are a game changer for fighting wildfires.