Only You (and AI) Can Prevent Wildfires

In a warming world where winter snow is melting earlier and rain is arriving later, “wildfire season” has become somewhat of a misnomer. Some parts of the country now see blazes popping up practically year round. This, combined with decades of fire management policy that promoted suppression over natural and controlled burns, has turned certain states — California, most famously — into tinderboxes.

With wildfire smoke becoming a standard component of Silicon Valley summers, it’s probably no surprise that numerous data analytics and artificial intelligence-focused startups have sprung up to address the issue. There’s even a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, Convective Capital, devoted solely to funding wildfire solutions.