Residents of Napa County are in favor of early wildfire detection measures but are more reticent about cell tower communication poles, reports the Napa Valley Register. A proposal to combine the two is currently under consideration. The Board of Supervisors must decide if Illumination Technologies can go ahead with the installation of 11 FireWatch detection poles, and 23 cell tower monopoles. The fire detection system would be able to sense smoke in a fire’s early stages before it can evolve into a raging wildfire.
“I’m excited about the possibility to leverage this new technology onto the fire response and potentially get earlier notification of fires, especially at nighttime,” said county Fire Chief Geoff Belyea.
While the merits of early fire detection do not appear to be controversial, some residents do not want to incorporate cell towers into the build-out. The American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the FCC determined that humans are not at risk from cell tower radiation, however individuals like Gary Orton of the Progressive Alliance believe they are a hazard. Orton also commented that cell towers were ugly.
The towers that Illumination Technologies would construct would be disguised as trees, but with no protruding branches. If Illumination Technologies is allowed to proceed, they will assume all costs for the deployment and maintenance of the FireWatch equipment for the next 30 years. This would free up an estimated $150,000 per year that Napa County could redirect to other programs. Though a no-cost fire detection system and improved cell phone coverage seems like a slam dunk for many, some locals told the Napa Register that they would rather have the county pay the bill and minimize the incursion of more cell towers in their area.
Occupying a public right-of-way location, a “pilot” monopole currently sits at Silverado Trail and Soda Canyon Road. The structure is 60 feet high and is camouflaged to resemble a tree. It could end up hosting an antenna, or come down, based on how the voting goes. “We hope to advance the process of improving communication capabilities and fire protection for the Soda Canyon neighborhood which was badly damaged during previous fires,” said Public Works Director Steven Lederer.
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