Are there others out there like us?

Trying to find out if there are other volunteer smokespotter groups like ours somewhere in the world is a bit like trying to find other life in the universe - you'd expect it might be out there, but it's damn hard to find.

The Google searches I've done have turned up lots of stuff about smokespotter volunteers on towers in the US (apparently a rapidly decreasing group as other forms of fire surveillance take over), and people who report black smoke from vehicle exhausts in cities, but no groups like ours.

There are Volunteer Bushfire Brigade members who live on relatively high blocks at various locations in the Darwin rural area who report smoke over the Bushfires radio network in order to faciliate a rapid response to fires. There's a 2009 report that mentions this group, and I've had an email from Frank Dunstan (the author of that report) which indicates that their activity is continuing.

If you come across anything about a group similar to ours I'm sure the Helidon Hills Smokespotters would be interested to hear about it.