NorthWestern Energy is keeping an eye on the Montana skyline by using new technology to scan for wildfire smoke. The utility installed 10 cameras around the state to patrol for smoke in 2024, But these arent just your average cameras.The cameras are equipped with artificial intelligence software. NorthWestern said the cameras will help detect wildfires and alert responders faster, while the AI will help prevent false alarms.When a camera detects smoke, the AI checks for a threat, telling smoke from dust for instance, and kicks it off for human verification before sounding the alarm.That vets it to confirm that it is in fact a wildfire and not maybe a truck rolling down a dirt road, maybe kicking up dust, said NorthWestern Energy wildfire situational awareness manager Shane Colman.The cameras are all over the state, from Hamilton to Missoulas TV Mountain to McDonald Pass and north of Ennis. But, NorthWestern Eneergy already plans to add more."Safety is obviously the number one contributing factor to having these. Not only for us, but for our first responders and responding agencies as well. But, initial attack is big. The faster you can detect a fire, the faster you can get to it, the smaller you can keep it, Colman said. Not only the cost of suppression, but the impacts on the environment and the communities are all minimized the faster that you can detect a fire.If you're curious about the cameras, their video feeds can be live-streamed online.