As the world warms and wildfires become bigger and more dangerous, the strategies and tactics around fire suppression, remediation, and prevention are rapidly evolving as well.
Welcome to the wild, new world of Wildfire Tech, where today's incident management teams use near real-time satellite data, and cutting-edge fire behavior modeling to make critical decisions about fire suppression operations and, on the front lines, firefighters may deploy technologies ranging from "dragon eggs" to ... view more »
As the world warms and wildfires become bigger and more dangerous, the strategies and tactics around fire suppression, remediation, and prevention are rapidly evolving as well.
Welcome to the wild, new world of Wildfire Tech, where today’s incident management teams use near real-time satellite data, and cutting-edge fire behavior modeling to make critical decisions about fire suppression operations and, on the front lines, firefighters may deploy technologies ranging from “dragon eggs” to drones with thermal sensors.
The massive aerial and on-the-ground firefights to protect lives and property that you see on TV are data-driven efforts. But, they are only part of an even bigger story. Wildfire Tech is also being used to reduce the severity of fires, proactively harden homes and businesses against ember storms, and increase the wildfire resilience of whole communities.
And, Wildfire Tech is not necessarily high-tech. What is old, is now new again, and known as “TEK” (Traditional Environmental Knowledge). What indigenous people knew and practiced for thousands of years – the use of “good fire” and other native land stewardship practices to reduce the severity of wildfires and encourage the health of naturally fire-adapted landscapes – is now being incorporated into current fire practices, and informing how wildfire tech is deployed and why.
Come learn how wildland fire practices are changing with the introduction of new technologies that promise greater safety, efficiency, and resilience for those of us who live in the Wildland-Urban Interface, and our whole understanding of wildland fire management is becoming more focused on long-term wildfire resilience and ecosystem health.
Presenter Ariel Strong is a former wildland firefighter and EMT and was a student in Coconino Community College’s Fire Science program. When she left emergency services work, she became a software engineer in data and analytics, and later, a drone pilot. She recently returned to Flagstaff to start her own business, Fireflight, LLC, doing wildfire risk assessment, mitigation, and emergency planning using drones, advanced imaging technology, and AI
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