Fire Grand Challenge selects semi-finalists for $1M prize in wildfire solutions

Conservation X Labs (CXL) has announced 24 semi-finalists in the Fire Grand Challenge, a competition focused on advancing wildfire management solutions in Western North America.

The selected projects will compete for a share of over $1 million in funding.

The semi-finalists were chosen by an independent panel of experts in fire management, forestry, and technology.

Each solution was assessed based on technological feasibility, growth potential, environmental and social impact, and originality.

The competition aims to improve approaches to living with and managing wildfire risk.

Innovations range from AI tools to cultural fire practices

The selected projects cover a wide range of wildfire management strategies.

Plumas Wood Fiber, a California-based semi-finalist, has developed a method to convert forest thinning byproducts into a sustainable alternative for horticultural use.

The Sierra Fund, based in Nevada City, California, has created tools to help Tribal Nations incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into land management and fire stewardship.

Other innovations include AI-driven wildfire risk assessment, robotic fire containment systems, autonomous drones for cultural burns, and biochar production techniques.

These solutions address different aspects of fire prevention, suppression, and ecological restoration.

List of semi-finalists

The 24 semi-finalists selected in the Fire Grand Challenge are:

• Biome Logs Team (California, USA) – Bio-compost technology to restore soils after wildfires.
• Blaze Barrier (California, USA) – Biodegradable wildfire defense system creating firebreaks with non-toxic extinguishing powder.
• Bullfinch Earth (British Columbia, Canada) – AI-powered wearable technology for fire risk assessment.
• BurnBot, Inc. (California, USA) – Robotic wildfire prevention system using mastication and prescribed burning.
• Circular Industries of Canada Ltd. (British Columbia, Canada) – Autonomous UAV fleet for fire suppression.
• Coalitions and Collaboratives (Colorado, USA) – Native fungi-based biomass decomposition for forest thinning.
• Deploy Tech Ltd (Wales, United Kingdom) – Air-deployable water tanks for wildfire response.
• Envisioning Labs (British Columbia, Canada) – Ground fire detection and suppression using CO2 injections.
• FireSwarm Solutions (British Columbia, Canada) – Drone fleet for cultural and prescribed burns.
• Flame Carbonization for Forest Health (California, USA) – Biochar kiln for wildfire risk reduction.
• Flash Forest Inc. (Ontario, Canada) – AI-guided drone seeding for reforestation.
• International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (Australia and Mexico) – GIS-based fire management and emissions reduction.
• Mayday.ai (Guardian Space) (Henssen, Germany) – AI-driven wildfire detection and real-time monitoring.
• Plumas Wood Fiber (California, USA) – Forest residual biomass conversion for horticultural use.
• Qualcomm Institute at University of California San Diego (California, USA) – Virtual reality tool for cultural site protection.
• Skyward Wildfire (British Columbia, Canada) – Cloud seeding to suppress lightning strikes.
• SIG-NAL, Watershed Progressive, and Cabin31 (California, USA) – Geospatial technology for community wildfire resilience.
• Takachar (Canada, India, USA) – Portable biomass processing for biochar production.
• TetonTopo (Idaho, USA) – Wildfire data portal for Tribal Nations.
• The Sierra Fund (California, USA) – Cultural fire stewardship tool with GIS and storytelling.
• Vibrant Planet Data Commons (Colorado, USA) – AI decision-support tool for fire mitigation.
• WeavAir (Ontario, Canada) – Fire forecasting system using multi-sensor IoT devices and AI.
• WildFire Robotics (Alberta, Canada) – Robotic fire containment system with autonomous control.
• Witching Hour (Tennessee, USA) – Robotic insulation system for live power lines to reduce fire risk.

Partner communities to co-develop solutions

In the next phase of the competition, CXL will introduce partner community semi-finalists who will help refine and test selected innovations.

These communities will collaborate with technical teams to integrate local knowledge and field-test new approaches.

One of the partner communities is the San Juan Islands Conservation District in Washington, which will explore strategies for managing fire risk across diverse ecosystems, including forests, prairies, and savannas.

The challenge encourages partnerships between technology developers and local experts to create practical and scalable solutions.

Finalists to be announced in March 2025

The Fire Grand Challenge, supported by organizations including the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, the Coca-Cola Foundation, Esri, and Planet Labs, received 92 technical applications and over 50 partner community applications from 20 countries.

Finalists will be announced in March 2025, with each receiving $50,000 to test their solutions in real-world conditions.

The competition will culminate in December 2025, when the Grand Prize winner will be named.

Fire Grand Challenge selects 24 semi-finalists for wildfire management innovation: Summary

Conservation X Labs has selected 24 semi-finalists in the Fire Grand Challenge, a competition focused on advancing wildfire management solutions in Western North America.

The projects were chosen based on feasibility, impact, and innovation.

The selected solutions range from AI-driven risk assessment to cultural fire practices and robotic suppression systems.

Partner communities will collaborate with technical teams to test these solutions.

Finalists will be announced in March 2025, receiving $50,000 each to validate their innovations.

The Grand Prize winner will be named in December 2025.