2024 Wildfire Report

Take command of wildfire risk management

It's time to think beyond "fire season" with a year-round approach to risk management.

See our vision for collaborative wildfire readiness

Ready to learn how local wildfire and emergency leaders can get the data they need?

Identify your next steps toward wildfire resilience

Need to grade your current approach or take it to the next level? We can help with that.

Assess the current state of North American wildfire teams

We spoke to 173 wildfire leaders about their budgets, favorite tools, and top concerns.

Learn what to expect this summer, autumn, and beyond

Our team of weather, drought, and wildfire experts provides a 2024 North American outlook.

Who can take command to protect the community?

Local
Government
City and county leaders have a responsibility to ensure their communities are prepared to face and recover from a wildfire event.
Energy
Utilities
Power utility infrastructure in the wildlands and wildland-urban interface increases the potential impact and scope of fires.
Fire
Districts
Professional fire teams provide the boots on the ground when a potential ignition develops or a wildfire rages.
Land Management
Agencies
The stewards of public land and priceless natural resources need to do their best to prevent major fires in the wildlands.

2024 North American Wildfire Report

In the spring of 2024, we surveyed more than 170 wildland fire team leaders in the United States and Canada to benchmark the current state of approaches to the wildfire event cycle across North America.

OUR REPORT...
  • Maps wildfire budgets against the event cycle to uncover the need for collaborative resilience
  • Explores technology usage among wildland fire teams to identify what's valuable and what's still needed
  • Tracks the growth of preventative burning as a strategy to reduce the potential impact of wildfires
  • Identifies top concerns and priorities for wildfire leaders

Understanding the entire wildfire event cycle

Not that long ago, we talked about "fire season", but as wildfires get bigger and more impactful, it's more useful to visualize a yearlong event cycle. There’s always something you can be doing to be proactive about wildfire risk.

Prevention

Data-driven land management strategies and fuel reduction efforts must grow to reflect the true scope of the challenge.

GET IN TOUCH!

Interested in learning more?

Have questions about anything you’ve read or seen? Ready to learn how AEM’s wildfire services could improve readiness and resilience in your community? Fill out the form below to get the conversation started.

Schedule a wildfire consultation

Time to visit a wildfire-ready community

Keeping communities in the wildland-urban interface safe from the growing threat of wildfires requires an incredible variety of reliable, trustworthy data to inform decisive action. AEM specializes in helping local governments and emergency management leaders ingest, combine, and compare a large amount of data in a clear, event-specific, action-oriented way.

Click the circles on the map below to learn more about the wildfire intelligence and technology protecting this model community.

Wildfire PTZ Camera Wildfire PTZ Camera hover
Wildfire PTZ Camera with AI Smoke Detection

Nothing can replace having eyes on the field, and PTZ cameras enable ongoing AI-assisted guard tours that automate visual fire monitoring.

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Remote Automated Weather Station Remote Automated Weather Station Hover
Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS)

Weather stations in the field help calculate reliable fire danger ratings and provide a real-time glimpse into conditions like wind that could affect fire.

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Satellite Hotspots Satellite Hotspots Hover
Satellite Hotspots

Surface scans of the forest from satellites can identify potential fires that might not yet have been detected by other means, enabling timely response and limiting their impact.

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Air Quality Monitoring Air Quality Monitoring Hover
Air Quality Monitoring

When you’re monitoring the woods, it’s crucial not to misidentify smoke as fog, and once a fire has begun, air quality becomes a major concern for response professionals and the public.

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Lightning Detection Lightning Detection Hover
Lightning Detection

Knowing about a lightning strike in a dry area can enable a timely assessment and mitigation effort to minimize the spread of storm-related wildfires.

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Weather Station Weather Station Hover
Weather Station

Weather stations on both public and private land provide real-time wind and weather data to predict fire behavior and keep people safer. We recommend the Vantage Pro2™.

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AEM Elements™ 360 Intelligence Hub AEM Elements™ 360 Intelligence Hub Hover
AEM Elements™ 360 Intelligence Hub

AEM’s signature multi-hazard decision support software allows this community’s emergency leadership to view all their critical fire and weather data in one place, creating a comprehensive collaboration hub.

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Regional electric co-op builds fire resilience in their territory

Imagine a regional electric utility with a service area of thousands of square miles and significant infrastructure in the wildland-urban interface area. In spite of growing challenges in their area, they're actually making their members and community safer by embracing...

  • A wildfire weather network
  • AI-powered smoke detection cameras
  • Rapid lightning strike alerts
  • Automated notifications for potential ignitions

Assess your capabilities as a wildfire readiness leader

Assessment

How wildfire-ready is your community or business?

Does your community or energy company have the right strategy, know-how, and technology to survive and thrive in the face of escalating wildfires? Answer a few questions and find out!

Take the assessment