Early detection is critical to managing wildfires before they grow beyond control. Once a wildfire is beyond control, operational costs and the potential loss of values and livelihood can increase dramatically. Alberta Wildfire uses multiple methods in its wildfire detection operations, including fire lookouts, aerial and ground patrols, satellite data and imagery, and public reporting. A new report discusses a project in which Alberta Wildfire, Alberta Innovates, and FPInnovations collaborated to investigate new methods and technologies for wildfire detection. This project was carried out as the Alberta Wildfire Detection Challenge.
The Challenge provided the funding and an opportunity for six companies to demonstrate their fixed detection systems in an operational environment during Alberta’s wildfire season in 2022. The following systems were installed and demonstrated:
- exci by exci pty ltd
- FIREBALL by Fireball Information Technologies, LLC
- Firehawk by Working on Fire Latin America Limited Agency in Chile
- ForestWatch by EnviroVision Solutions Inc
- IQ FireWatch by IQ Technologies for Earth and Space GmbH
- SmokeD by SmokeD Sp. z o.o.
The performance data were summarized and discussed in the report, Alberta Wildfire Detection Challenge: Operational Demonstration of Six Wildfire Detection Systems. For more information, contact the report’s author, Rex Hsieh, senior researcher in FPInnovations’ Wildfire Operations group.
