CAL FIRE
Turning Fire Data into Faster Decisions
Nearly 13,000 real-time simulations give CAL FIRE the predictive edge to protect lives and communities
California recognized that wildfire had become a critical and growing threat to community safety — and moved decisively to find better solutions. In 2018, the state issued an RFI to identify technologies that could answer a foundational question: “How can we better detect, predict, and notify the public about wildfires?” California selected Technosylva. Six years later, CAL FIRE continues to rely on Technosylva as the intelligence platform at the center of its wildfire detection, prediction, and response operations.
- In 2025 alone, they leveraged nearly 13,000 of Technosylva’s automated fire spread simulations on detected wildfire incidents across California, providing real-time predictive intelligence on community safety as each incident emerged.
- In 2025, CAL FIRE published fire-spread simulations to all 6,000 field crew directly to their mobile devices, giving teams real-time intelligence to coordinate ground response, deploy resources, and evacuate communities when necessary.
A First-Time Validation of Fire-Spread Modeling on the Fire Line
Technosylva and CAL FIRE led a peer-reviewed study analyzing over 1,800 California wildfires to assess the accuracy of fire-spread models used in real-time operations.
Our Solutions
Technosylva’s predictive intelligence solutions provide CAL FIRE incident commanders validated fire-spread projections hours in advance — enabling earlier evacuation orders and more strategic resource placement before conditions escalated.
Working in close partnership since 2019, Technosylva developed Wildfire Operations (Wildfire Analyst) and Tactical Analyst in direct collaboration with the CAL FIRE Intelligence Division led by Chief Phil SeLegue. These tools empower CAL FIRE Fire Behavior Analysts and Research Data Specialists with automated fire detection and simulation capabilities — supporting suppression prioritization and resource allocation decisions at every stage of an incident.
CAL FIRE and Technosylva also partnered to develop an advanced Fuel Treatment Tracker, enabling CAL FIRE to monitor fuel reduction and mitigation efforts and integrate that data directly into wildfire spread modeling. This expanded the platform’s value across a broader set of CAL FIRE teams — including field crew, firefighters, and decision support teams — while supporting regulatory reporting to state partners.
Together, CAL FIRE and Technosylva pioneered the Initial Attack Assessment Index (IAA) The IAA is a dynamic metric applied to every ignition, quantifying the high-consequence potential of fire growth and community impact within the critical first two hours post-ignition. It gives incident commanders a validated, science-backed basis for prioritizing response in the moments that matter most and enables CAL FIRE to use this metric to identify high-consequence fires and route resources earlier to increase suppression effectiveness.
This data-driven approach represented a novel shift in how agency resources are deployed, enabling teams to estimate suppression difficulty before the first resources even arrive on scene. Peer-reviewed research – where other experts in the fire science community have weighed in on the value of composite metrics purpose-built for agencies – have further validated this approach, as well.
Through ongoing collaboration with CAL FIRE, Technosylva continues to innovate and expand the metrics that feed decision support systems, optimize fire response prioritization, and predict the probability of control at a small size.
“I really want to focus on our solution and our partnership with Technosylva, where we started, where we’re at today. What the value is of this software and of this suite of products and how we integrate it on a daily basis into a lot of our operational decisions from the initial attack to the extended to the major attack incidents.“
Philip SeLegue
Staff Chief Fire Intelligence, CAL FIRE in a presentation at the 2023 CalChiefs ESRI Wildfire Tech Conference
Client Impact
Today, Technosylva solutions for integrated incident management help support the work of more than 6,000 full-time firefighters and additional 3,000 seasonal firefighters in the field.
Timeline: Ongoing partnership with continuous platform enhancements
Quantifying Suppression Difficulty: The Initial Attack Assessment (IAA) Framework
Technosylva founder and CTO Joaquin Ramirez walks through the Initial Attack Assessment (IAA) Index, a dynamic risk indicator that synthesizes fire behavior and terrain complexity to predict a fire’s potential to escape in the critical first two hours after ignition, validated across more than 27,000 fires in California and beyond.
Technosylva Touted as Game Changer in Wildfire Management Innovations
Technosylva, an AI generated predictive modeling platform, has been a game changer for us.” — Governor Gavin Newsom, minute 40:21
Technosylva Recognized for Advancing California’s Wildfire Response
As California faced a challenging fire season, Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted at a press conference how Technosylva was advancing the state’s wildfire response effort.
Technosylva and CAL FIRE led a peer-reviewed study analyzing 1,853 California wildfires to assess the accuracy of fire spread models used in real-time operations, marking the first validation of its kind on the fire line.