Climate change has led to an increase in wildfire season length, frequency, and burned area.
The West Coast wildfire season, which used to run from June until October, now begins in May and stretches into January. Eight of California's ten biggest fires have occurred in the past decade.
According to the EPA, climate change has led to an increase in wildfire season length, frequency, and burned area.
NOOAA adds that changes in climate create warmer, drier conditions, leading to longer, more active fire seasons.
While most wildfire response is performed by boots-on-the-ground grueling work from firefighters, response and suppression methods must evolve alongside the increased quantity and severity of the fires. In recent years, technological advancements have provided firefighting crews with extra tools to detect, contain and even extinguish fires faster and with greater safety.
Wildfire mitigation technologies include, but are not limited to:
- A.I. maps that outline where volatile vegetation should be removed
- A.I.-enabled fire detection- Virtual 3-D cartography
- Risk-analysis systems
- Electrical-malfunction defenses
- Robotic-ball sensors
- Home rebuilding apps
Companies like Pano AI, Dryad, Rain, Perimeter Solutions, Chooch AI, Enview, Squishy Robotics, Jupiter Intelligence, Gridware, and Overstory lead the way.
With the increased adoption of renewables and growing threats from natural disasters, our power grid faces more pressure than ever. Gridware, a cutting-edge energy company, is stepping up to address these challenges.