Exclusive: Why FireSat could transform the global response to wildfire threats

In this exclusive interview for IFSJ, Brian Collins, Executive Director of Earth Fire Alliance, explains how the FireSat programme is using space-based technology to provide earlier, faster, and more precise wildfire detection data

The cornerstone of decision-making and effective wildfire response is good situational awareness.

Timely and accurate data is essential for response, prevention, recovery, and the development of new methods to improve wildfire resilience.

With the first satellite images from FireSat released this week, Earth Fire Alliance is demonstrating how its system can detect early-stage fires that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Earth Fire Alliance, a nonprofit coalition established in 2024, is leading a global effort to change how wildfires are detected, monitored, and managed through its flagship initiative, FireSat – a purpose-built satellite constellation designed with and for the fire community.

Backed by philanthropic support and developed in partnership with satellite manufacturer Muon Space and Google Research, FireSat will offer rapid, high-resolution wildfire data to first responders and scientists around the world.

In this interview, Brian Collins, Executive Director of Earth Fire Alliance, outlines the programme’s mission, the gaps it aims to close, and what a data-led approach means for the global fire community.

Can you tell us about Earth Fire Alliance and how the FireSat programme came about?

Earth Fire Alliance is a 501c3 nonprofit organization seeking to transform humanity’s collective response to the escalating global wildfire crisis.

We are spearheading FireSat, a first-of-its-kind satellite constellation that will provide high-fidelity wildfire data and deliver near real-time detection and monitoring capabilities to first responders, incident commanders, and scientists worldwide.

I have spent much of my career at the intersection of space technology and wildfire and emergency response.

The Alliance was founded in 2024 to ensure that the wildfire and science community have accurate, reliable, and accessible data at their fingertips as they protect our communities and resources in the face of increasingly frequent, intense, and fast-moving wildfires.

In the United States alone, wildfires cause more than $1 billion in annual damage, destroy thousands of homes and properties, and burn millions of acres.

Current approaches are hampered by critical information gaps that prevent timely detection and response.

With this escalating crisis as our focus, Earth Fire Alliance and our partners collaborated with hundreds of firefighters, decision-makers, ecologists, and policy-makers and identified the need for purpose-built satellite technology for wildfire detection and tracking.

The FireSat orbital demonstration launched in March 2025, and we recently released the first wildfire images taken by the satellite.

Why aren’t existing satellite systems meeting the needs of those tackling wildfires today?

Today’s satellites are useful but are not precise, fast, or reliable enough to meet the high stakes of modern wildfires.

Most of the satellites we rely on today were built for other purposes such as weather monitoring, Earth observation, or high-resolution imagery.

As a result, they can’t detect small fires and have trouble collecting and reporting on the dynamic characteristics of wildfires such as fire intensity, spotting, and movement.

Some satellites only pass over a fire-affected region as infrequently as every two to three days – we need faster and more high-fidelity data to support the decisions firefighters face during today’s fast-paced incidents.

High false positive rates from space are also common.

Some satellites might mistake a reflection off of a pond or smoke from a factory for an active blaze, drawing resources unnecessarily.

Finally, traditional space-based fire data isn’t always available in near real-time or in the formats and products useful for rapid decision-making, delaying and reducing the effectiveness of detection and response efforts.

If data cannot be seamlessly integrated into firefighter workflows, it is difficult for first responders to use, let alone at speed.

These are all issues Earth Fire Alliance is addressing to improve how first responders can access and apply data.

What sets FireSat apart in terms of what it can detect and how quickly it can deliver that information?

FireSat is uniquely designed for precise, real-time wildfire detection and monitoring in order to give firefighters, decision-makers, and the public enough situational awareness to address the changing scope and scale of wildfire impacts across the planet.

At full capacity, our satellites will deliver global monitoring every 20 minutes or less.

FireSat also brings a new level of precision.

The sensors are designed to detect thermal anomalies with enhanced sensitivity and can identify small fires at early ignition stages.

Current satellites detect fires once they are two to three acres in size (approximately two football fields), whereas FireSat will be able to detect fires that are orders of magnitude smaller, roughly the area of a one-car garage.

FireSat is also designed to provide information on fire intensity and impact so we can understand the difference between high-intensity fires that pose a threat and fires that may occur naturally in different landscapes.

FireSat will be unmatched by any combination of existing or planned infrared satellites in terms of imagery detail, accuracy, and speed.

How is this technology expected to change day-to-day decision-making for frontline responders?

FireSat has the potential to change how organizations allocate resources before, during, and after active incidents.

Starting before wildfires escalate, with near real-time data, frontline responders will be able to detect and monitor low-intensity, small fires from space.

This will enable them to identify heat anomalies and fire ignitions before they spread, reducing response time and potential damage.

This technology can also support fire risk assessments, resource planning, and mitigation strategies.

During active blazes, FireSat will provide fire agencies with a comprehensive view of active fire zones.

It will improve how agencies can track fire intensity and progression to best allocate resources, inform the public, and protect lives and communities.

FireSat can also be a critical tool to support recovery efforts.

Data can be applied to assess post-fire landscapes, inform damage assessments, measure burn severity, and aid in ecological restoration planning.

This program will be a resource for the entire lifecycle of fires, and we hope to help improve outcomes in each phase.

What role did collaboration with fire agencies play in shaping the system’s design and priorities?

FireSat was developed via an extensive requirements definition process with hundreds of end users around the world to ensure the system specifically meets their operational needs.

That effort represented our first step, but the most important step happens now that we have sample FireSat data.

The Alliance has established an Early Adopter Program for global engagement with end users – this includes everyone from frontline responders to incident commanders, predictive modelers, and fire scientists.

We recently announced our first cohort of Early Adopters, which includes eight fire agencies across three continents.

We know that while there are many common core approaches to fire, there are also key differences across communities, agencies, and geographies.

Early Adopters will help us learn and adjust to ensure that as quickly as we collect operational data, which will be available in 2026, agencies and communities will be able to use it to improve their resilience to wildfire.

Early Adopters help the Alliance understand the wide range of workflows and systems in use today.

We are learning agency processes and collaborating with their technology partners to determine the best way to ingest FireSat data into existing platforms.

The goal is seamless integration of FireSat data into as many communities as possible.

Earth Fire Alliance partners just released the first wildfire images from FireSat in July. What do the images reveal, and what milestone do they represent for the program?

The first FireSat images demonstrate FireSat’s breakthrough capabilities across a range of diverse fire scenarios.

FireSat detected a small roadside fire in Oregon, USA, that was completely missed by existing satellite systems, showcasing our ability to catch fires in their earliest stages when they’re most manageable.

We also captured the Nipigon 6 fire in Ontario, Canada, where FireSat’s multispectral sensors distinguished between active fire regions, old burn scars, and unaffected areas, providing comprehensive insights into the fire’s lifecycle in that region.

In Australia’s Northern Territory, we detected multiple simultaneous fires across a large landscape, and in Alaska, we monitored two remote fires in a single image, demonstrating our value for regions where ground-based observation is challenging.

Collectively, these images demonstrate the powerful impact FireSat will have on communities and the firefighters who protect them worldwide.

They are a proof point that FireSat can detect fires much more precisely than existing satellites, validating everything we’ve been working toward with our fire agency partners.

They show that when our full constellation is operational, we’ll be able to provide the global fire community with the situational awareness they need to act before small fires become catastrophic blazes.

FireSat is the result of extensive collaboration among engineers, researchers, frontline fire agencies, and philanthropies.

The images represent a milestone in leveraging public-private-philanthropic partnerships to advance global wildfire detection, response, and understanding.

How could FireSat support moving from reactive suppression to more preventative strategies  –  and what does that actually mean in practice?

Most of today’s fire prevention and response strategies focus on suppressing fires first.

While that strategy is important for specific conditions and communities, it presents challenges when multiple events occur simultaneously, requiring decisions about which fires pose the greatest threat and how ecological strategies can provide additional resilience.

The shift from “reactive suppression to prevention” will require data and insights to inform policy- and decision-making.

FireSat’s ability to detect small, low intensity fires fills a fundamental gap in our collective knowledge, and will contribute more informed strategies for both suppression and prevention.

There is more fire on the landscape than we know today, because today we can only see and collect data on large fires.

This often misses critical low-intensity events that are essential to understand complete fire patterns and distinguish beneficial fire from destructive events.

The root cause of this information gap lies in technological limitations because existing satellite systems cannot provide the resolution, sensitivity, frequency, and data accessibility required to improve situational understanding of fire across the planet.

If we can better understand the full life-cycle, origin, and behavior of fires, decision-makers can implement and assess more strategies like controlled burns while ensuring they stay within safe parameters and maximize ecological impact.

Comprehensive fire intelligence enables dynamic risk assessment where firefighters can predict which low-intensity fires might naturally extinguish versus those likely to escalate into dangerous blazes.

Such predictive capabilities could inform more diverse approaches, from suppression to selective intervention, and preserve fire’s natural role in ecosystems while protecting communities and infrastructure.

With over 50 satellites planned, how do you intend to balance global reach with the specific needs of local fire communities?

The FireSat program will scale over the next several years.

The first three operational satellites are expected to launch in mid-2026, providing a twice daily global revisit rate.

The goal is to provide a 20-minute global revisit rate by 2030, which we project will be achieved with 50+ satellites.

At the same time, we’re focused on growing our network of Early Adopters as we scale, so we can maximize impact once FireSat is fully operational.

We want to ensure FireSat data is accessible and easy to use, specifically for organizations in the most fire-prone regions and areas with more limited resources.

This will be made possible through a range of public, private, and philanthropic investments, so we can provide FireSat data to first responders, communities, and scientists globally.

Looking ahead, what kind of impact do you hope FireSat will have on how the world prepares for and manages wildfires?

FireSat has the potential to fundamentally shift our understanding of how wildfire affects communities across the planet.

It will change humanity’s relationship to fire just as global weather observations changed our relationship with weather events.

FireSat will make our communities safer by providing early detection and reporting of wildfires that threaten us.

It will also open up new wildfire management strategies and approaches to preserve unique ecologies across the planet.

We’re building real-time fire intelligence that captures the complete spectrum of fire activity, and aim to be a catalyst for a united global response to the wildfire crisis.

We envision a future in which this unprecedented dataset drives approaches that expand humanity’s collective approach to wildfire.

We want to put these tools into the hands of as many decision-makers as possible, empowering a global user community with precise, timely, and trustworthy data for confident and effective decision-making.