What's Being Done About Wildfires Threat in United States?

Security, Public Safety, Fire & Safety • Jul 03, 2015

A friend of mine, whom I met through my wife’s friendship with a fellow nurse, is a firefighter in the Denver area. Jon is trained in wildfire fighting and has spent over two decades in this dangerous, demanding field. Jon has a substantial history participating in these important missions. As a result of my relationship with him and for other reasons, I keep an ear out for wildfire activity. Unfortunately, due to drought and other factors, 2015 has seen a particularly grim start to wildfire season.

Earlier this week, I watched a news report on wildfires out west and that moved me to undertake this analysis. Our research on wildfire-related systems and solutions demonstrates that a number of government agencies, throughout the United States and Canada, have purchased and are pursuing a notable number of relevant systems and solutions. In this study of government bid requests and government RFPs, we focused on the past twelve months of activity.

What others are saying…

Climate Central, by Bobby Magill, May 5th, 2015, “Intense Wildfire Season Expected in West”. “With drought showing signs of worsening across the West and Upper Midwest, the Forest Service anticipates that it may spend up to $1.6 billion fighting wildfires in 2015, in a fire season that is expected to be worse than normal.”

The Atlantic, by Alan Taylor, Jun 30th, 2015, “Tinder Dry: An Early Start to Wildfire Season in the West”. “Wildfires have already burned more than 1.6 million acres in Alaska this season, and blazes in Washington, Oregon, and bone-dry California have scorched thousands more, taking a number of houses and other structures with them.”

Predictive Services, July 1st, 2015, “National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook”. “The July, August, and September through October 2015 significant wildland fire potential forecasts included in this outlook represent the cumulative forecasts of the ten Geographic Area Predictive Services Units and the National Predictive Services Unit.”

A pictorial, which includes some pertinent historical data…