As artificial intelligence (AI) has become a powerful tool in combating the harms of natural disasters like hurricanes, researchers across the country are working to deploy the evolving technology in wildfire prediction/preparation, early detection and damage assessment with improved accuracy and speed.
This important work is continuing to grow in urgency as the proliferation of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 50% by the turn of the century.
In terms of wildfire prediction, there are three key areas where AI tools can be leveraged: risk prediction, preparation and behavior/spread forecasting once a fire is detected.
Machine learning is uniquely positioned to aid in predicting future wildfires due to its ability to quickly analyze large amounts of data and identify patterns for accurate predictions.
Utilizing historical data such as โweather, vegetation types, and previous fire incidents, machine learning algorithms can determine if the conditions are prime for disaster and identify potential wildfire risks with increasing accuracy.โ
