TracPlus has developed a new research model that brings wildfire risk data and aerial firefighting response capability into a single operational view, with the first demonstration focused on California.
The project, developed by TracPlus Labs, extends the company’s existing data-fusion work from tracking aircraft to modeling the risk environment in which firefighting aircraft operate. The model is designed to support earlier, clearer operational decisions by combining live and static data sources into one picture of wildfire risk and response coverage.
Fire agencies already use datasets covering hazard, fire history, exposure, weather, vegetation, and infrastructure. TracPlus said these sources often answer separate questions and rarely sit together in one comparable format. Its model is intended to reduce that fragmentation by giving decision-makers a unified view rather than a series of disconnected data layers.
The model divides a region into a fine grid and scores each cell for wildfire risk on a scale of zero to 10. It combines exposure, including structures and infrastructure, with live and forecast conditions such as weather, vegetation dryness, and fuel. TracPlus said the weightings are adjustable and each score can be traced back to the data behind it.
The research builds on TracPlus’ existing aviation work. Over the past 15 years, the company has fused aircraft telemetry and suppression data from satellite, cellular, ADS-B, and onboard telemetry units into operational feeds used at national scale. The wildfire risk model applies that same fusion approach to a wider set of environmental and operational data.
By drawing live fleet positions into the model, TracPlus said users can compare areas of high wildfire risk with the aircraft available to reach them in time. This allows covered high-risk areas to be distinguished from high-risk locations where aircraft cannot respond quickly. The company said the view is intended to support pre-fire planning decisions, such as where to position aircraft, rather than automate deployment decisions or simulate a specific response.
Todd O’Hara, CEO of TracPlus, said the challenge for agencies is not a lack of information but a need for usable insight. “When we talk to customers, not one of them says they need more data,” he said. “What they need is insight from the data they already have, and that is what we do. They are not short of information; they are short of a partner to help them make sense of it, wherever they operate.”
O’Hara added: “We have spent years taking messy data and adding enough context that it means something. This is that same idea pointed at risk: taking disparate data sources and turning them into one picture a person can act on.”
In its first demonstration, the model segments California into more than 10,000 cells, each covering about 14 square miles. According to TracPlus, that is roughly 180 times finer than a county-level index, allowing risk to be viewed locally rather than as a single figure for an entire county.
The model is a research capability in development within FireFlyte, built on the TracPlus Mission Platform. While the first demonstration uses authoritative public datasets from agencies including CAL FIRE and FEMA, alongside national weather networks and TracPlus operational data, the company said the method is not specific to California. Further projects are expected to follow from TracPlus Labs.
