Eytan Krasilovsky, deputy director of the Forest Stewards Guild, was at a conference in Flagstaff, Ariz., when he got the notification about a wildfire near Pecos.

A wildfire camera installed earlier this year on Tesuque Peak had picked up the white wisp of smoke from the small, naturally ignited blaze, which became known as the Honeyboy Fire.

But maybe just as significant is what the camera hasn't picked up over the past months: clouds, dust and other false alarms.

"If the camera cries wolf a lot, then people are going to ignore it," Krasilovsky said. "Any time you sent people out to look for something, it's a risk. You've got people on the roads, on dirt roads, they're hiking, so you only want to send people out if you feel really confident that it's real."

Jonathan Frenzen, co-cha

See Full Page