Innovators battling wildfires with AI, drones & fungi get $50k grants to scale up

(Photo: Flickr)

To address the devastating effects of wildfires in Western North America, the nonprofit Conservation X Labs (CXL) and its partners have awarded $50,000 each to 12 shortlisted teams seeking to scale up novel technologies and processes to lower wildlife risk and increase ecosystem and community resilience.

CXL announced the 12 finalists of its first Fire Grand Challenge on March 26. Each finalist will field-test their solutions over the next nine months in fire-prone regions across the western United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Across Western North America, destructive fire threatens to wipe out cherished ecosystems, from the giant sequoias to bristlecone pines to culturally important landscapes,” Liam Torpy, CXL‘s Fire Grand Challenge manager, told Mongabay by email. “Each innovation seeks to help better steward landscapes in order to protect and restore biodiversity, in addition to decreasing risk to people and communities.”

Each $50,000 grant will be divided between the technical organization that developed the innovation and the partner communities, which will collaborate on development and field testing. The grant will support controlled burns, test flights, and improvements to business models and scaling strategies.

The shortlisted innovations include The Coldfire Project, which uses native fungi to break down biomass and wood chip piles, reducing fuel for fire. Another project converts forest biomass into wood fiber potting substrates for the horticultural industry, which will both mitigate fire risk and create local jobs.

Several teams employ the use of drones and AI technology. One will conduct cultural and prescribed burns, while another uses drones to distribute seed pods for reforestation with the help of AI. Meanwhile, another uses AI tools to assist in community planning for fire mitigation.

Some teams have also innovated robotic systems. One group created a robotic fire containment system and another created a system to rapidly and cost-effectively insulate live power lines to reduce wildfire risk.

To stop fires, one finalist has created a wildfire detection and suppression system for peat and duff soils, while another uses cloud seeding to prevent lightning strikes that may cause wildfires.

In Mexico, geographic information systems (GIS) and local knowledge will be used to implement early dry-season burns that lessen fire severity later on. In California, another partnership is using a geospatial conservation technology workflow process to strengthen human capacity and community participation. Another initiative, in partnership with the Washoe Tribe in the U.S., will use GIS and storytelling tools to support cultural fire stewardship.

Torpy said it’s important “to show positive examples of Tribal Nations exercising their data sovereignty in partnerships, and to shed light on the innovation process.”

CXL and a panel of experts will assess the progress of the 12 finalists. One grand prize winner will receive an additional $100,000 and two will get an additional $50,000 each.

The 12 finalists teams are:

1. Coalitions and Collaboratives (CO, USA) & Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition (British Columbia (BC), CAN) – A novel method using native fungi to break down biomass and wood chip piles created by restorative forest thinning.
    
2. FireSwarm Solutions (BC, CAN) & and Cheslatta Contracting Limited Partnership (BC, CAN) – An autonomous fleet of drones to carry out cultural and prescribed burns in order to increase ecosystem resilience and health.
    
3. Flash Forest Inc. (Ontario, CAN) & Grand County Wildfire Council (CO, USA) – Forest regeneration technology, guided by AI software, that utilizes drones to distribute seed pods for replanting.
    
4. International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (Victoria, AUS) & BIOMASA AC (Chiapas, MEX) – A process called Emissions Reduction Traditional Fire Management (ERTFM) that implements early dry season burns. The process utilizes geospatial information systems (GIS) and local knowledge to prevent destructive burns in the late dry season. 
    
5. Plumas Wood Fiber (CA, USA) & Earthworm Soil Factory (CA, USA) – A process for converting forest residual biomass from thinnings into sustainable, locally-sourced wood fiber potting substrates. Creates a replacement for unsustainably harvested peat moss for the horticultural industry, reduces fire hazards, and creates jobs in disadvantaged communities.
    
6. Envisioning Labs (BC, CAN) & San Juan Islands Conservation District (WA, USA) – A wildfire detection and suppression system designed specifically for ground fires in peat and duff soils. Detects fires with carbon monoxide and light sensors, then suppresses fires with liquid carbon dioxide injections.
    
7. Skyward Wildfire (BC, CAN) – Suppresses lightning by cloud seeding with safe, non-toxic materials to neutralize storm charges, offering a scalable, localized solution for protecting forests at risk from lightning-ignited wildfires globally. 
    
8. SIG-NAL, Watershed Progressive, and Cabin31 (CA, USA) & Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (CA, USA) – A geospatial conservation technology workflow process for landscape wildfire resilience projects to strengthen work crews, local community participation, and feedback in project implementation.
    
9. The Sierra Fund (CA, USA) & The Washoe Tribe (CA & NV, USA) – Fire Stewardship Support Tool to support Tribal Nations and Organizations with cultural fire stewardship and restoration, utilizing GIS and storytelling tools.
    
10. Vibrant Planet Data Commons (CO, USA) & The Kalispel Tribe of Indians (WA, USA) – AI decision support tool to assist community planning for fire mitigation and restoration.
     
11. Wildfire Robotics (Alberta, CAN) & Druid Hills and NoFloCo (CO, USA) – Robotic fire containment system with advanced locomotion, intelligent fluid distribution, and semi-autonomous control systems that self-deploys long-distance fluid in distribution lines across challenging terrain.
     
12. Witching Hour (TN, USA) & The Town of Paradise (CA, USA) – A robotic system that rapidly and cost-effectively installs insulation over live power lines, reducing wildfire risk and lowering electricity costs in vulnerable, wildfire-prone communities without disrupting power service.

This article was originally published on Mongabay under the Creative Commons BY NC ND licence. Read the original article.