The Park Fire has now burned around 350,000 acres according to Cal Fire reports. To those outside California, this is the terrifying reality of living in the Golden State. Without the bravery and expertise of first responders and fire crews, who knows where this state would be. That said, there is so much work to do in resolving this issue steeped in historically poor land management practices. As someone who tried to launch a start-up in the space and studied the science, policy, and economics of wildfire at UC Berkeley, here are some thoughts:
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in wildfire management involve collaboration between government agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and private organizations including technology companies, non-profits, and research institutions. These partnerships aim to:
-Enhance Resource Allocation: By pooling financial and human resources, PPPs can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of wildfire response efforts. Spreading financial risk between public and private entities also incentivizes greater levels of investment.
-Innovate Solutions: Collaborations foster the development of new technologies and practices that can be deployed in wildfire management. California, like all Western states, is home to millions of acres of public land that is managed by slow acting government agencies. Partnership between federal land managers and innovators can rapidly reduce firefighter fatalities (using VR/AR for training, drones for 24/7 fire spotting and prescribed burns during fires) while unlocking new volumes of data from public lands can be used to train wildfire prediction models.
-Engage Communities: PPPs often include local communities in decision-making processes, ensuring that strategies are tailored to specific regional needs. These should be expanded to include indigenous communities, the original stewards of forests in America who still use prescribed burns to improve forest health and wildfire resistance. A great example is the Amah Mustsun Land Trust.
Here are some innovators leading the charge on PPPs:
• Dryad Networks - Wireless environmental sensors
• Pano AI - Provides AI driven hardware and software solutions to help firefighters rapidly detect ignitions
• Overstory - AI driven platform to analyze all vegetation on Earth to prevent wildfires
• Edgybees - Geospatial intelligence firm whose tool can help with wildfire response
• Gridware - IOT and data platform to help monitor power pole health
• OroraTech - Thermal intelligence
• Rain - Autonomous drone-helicopters for rapid fire suppression
• Chooch - Using AI to help with early detection of wildlife fires
• Cornea - Wildfire-focused disaster management platform
• BurnBot, Inc. - Using robotics and AI to scale safe, clean fuel treatment
• Firemaps - environmental telemetry platform for real-time forestry monitoring
• Spectro Solutions - intelligent fire detection service
We can end wildfire but it requires innovation and partnership.