A wildfire-prone Northern California county is considering installing surveillance cameras that can help detect its next major blaze.

The Press Democrat reported Friday that the eight high-definition cameras would be installed on communication towers and other existing structure.

The goal for the web cameras is to help emergency responders and government officials more quickly understand the severity of a fire, where it is spreading and how quickly it is advancing.

The network would span more than a third of the Lake Sonoma watershed, a water source for 600,000 people across three counties.

County supervisors will consider the eight-camera $475,000 investment in August.

An existing network of 60 cameras across Southern California and Lake Tahoe has already provided critical information about hundreds of past fires.