Wildfires showcase need for more adaptation solutions

Another wildfire season is underway, and Jasper, Alberta is the latest casualty. Wildfires swept through the park and surrounding communities over the past week, incinerating a third of buildings and covering more than 36,000 hectares. 

Fires are becoming more frequent and more intense as the climate changes. Climate change made the 2023 fires twice as likely. Lightning could increase by 40% in a changing climate, increasing the chances of ignition. 

The cost of fighting wildfires is also increasing, rising an average of $150 million per decade in Canada and exceeding $1 billion for six of the last 10 years. Fire and forestry services around the world are increasingly turning to technology to better predict, respond and adapt to wildfires, creating a fast growing industry around wildfire protection that could grow from ~$8 billion to $20 billion by 2026. 

Prediction: Understanding when and where wildfires are most likely to break out can give fire services and communities a critical edge. It’s an area where AI is having a real-world impact, allowing fire crews to run more simulations on where fires could start and how they might spread. Edmonton AI startup AltaML has worked with Alberta Wildfire to help the agency make decisions and deploy resources strategically.

Detection: The proliferation of low-cost sensors and access to satellite data is opening a new field for wildfire detection. SenseNet deploys sensors on the ground that can detect different gases and use thermal imaging to detect hot spots. Coupled with satellite monitoring, their system has the potential to detect wildfires in minutes instead of hours or days and across a much wider area.

Mitigation: A driver behind the scale of some fires is modern forest management, which can lead to a buildup of dead brush and other potential wildfire fuel. California’s BurnBot uses remotely operated machines to conduct prescribed burns, reducing the amount of fuel and covering far more ground than humans alone. Quebec’s Permalution is aiming creating forest fire mitigation system through fog and rain. Their system can harvest water from fog, increasing irrigation and humidity to mitigate fires.

We need more investment in climate adaptation to mitigate the impacts of a changing climate - adaptation receives less than 10% of climate tech funding globally. Efforts like CICE’s call for Wildfire Tech innovation are a great place to start.

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