BURLINGTON, Mass.- June 7, 2023 - Precisely, the global leader in data integrity, today announced that The Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council in San Bernardino County, California, relies on its Wildfire Risk product to strengthen local wildfire protection plans and, ultimately, help manage risk to property and citizens. The county-wide data is being provided to the fire safe council via a pro bono product initiative spearheaded by the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) Commission at Precisely.
There’s been a dramatic increase in wildfires worldwide in recent years, with the United Nations predicting a 14% increase in global wildfires by 2030, rising sharply to 30% by 2050, and 50% by the end of the century – prompting public sector organizations around the globe to revolutionize the way in which they are assessing wildfire risk.
With California itself seeing a sharp increase in wildfire activity over the past few decades, San Bernardino County, the largest county in the region, knew it needed to act swiftly to help protect its population of over 2 million residents.
“Being able to show a citizen their home on a map, and the risk associated with that area, has a powerful impact on fire stewardship within the community, further reducing the risk of wildfire damage,” said Laura Dyberg, President at Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council. “Access to historical and real-time wildfire risk data is game-changing for us. With tangible data to back it up, our grant applications are immeasurably stronger and more accurate forecasting allows us to better educate and prepare residents.”
Wildfire Risk data allows the fire safe councils to see which regions are more likely to experience wildfires, alongside the corresponding level of severity. It also helps to show how risk increases or decreases based on different scenarios and variables. Moving forward, the county plans to use this data to power a forecasting tool that will be displayed via maps. These will be included as part of the ongoing grant application process - helping to visualize which areas to prioritize and serve as a powerful tool for citizen awareness.
“To help ensure competitive advantage in successfully getting grant allocation, it’s crucial to be able to make confident wildfire protection decisions based on trustworthy data,” said Justin Merino, Managing Director at Morongo Basin Fire Safe Council. “The bottom line is, if we fail to secure a grant, that loss of funding could mean life or death for our citizens.”
Wildfire Risk is crucial to better understanding wildfire behavior and the likelihood of potential losses, allowing risk to be assessed based upon a combination of historical, risk, and forecasting data. The insights are critical across a wide array of industries, from public sector organizations seeking to protect their people and land, to insurers identifying underestimated property risk, telecom providers needing to understand the potential impact of wildfires on cell tower placement, and more.
“The Precisely Wildfire Risk product is developed by a team of seasoned fire scientists with real wildfire expertise, ensuring that the methodology and models reflect the most accurate and reliable data in the market,” said Dan Adams, Senior Vice President – Data Enrichment at Precisely. “It’s truly humbling to see the impact that access to trustworthy wildfire risk data has already had in San Bernardino County. We’re pleased to be further extending our partnership, working with the fire safe councils to explore how the Precisely data enrichment portfolio of over 400 datasets, containing more than 9000 attributes, can help to inform and enrich policymaking across several additional parts of the county.”
Learn more about how San Bernardino County uses Wildfire Risk to establish fire resiliency and help protect its community.
About Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council
Our organization was formed in 1998 following the 1997 Mill Fire which started on Forest Service land by recreational shooters. Citizens rallied against the dangers thought to arise from a shooting range below our community. The Front Country Alliance was created as a means to address these threats. It became clear that as residents of the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface), we needed to take more responsibility for OUR properties and what we could do to make them more fire safe. In 1999, mentored by California Department of Forestry (CDF - now CAL FIRE) Battalion Chief Steve Faris, the mountain came together to form the Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council. Our Council joined Chief Faris in spreading the word and ultimately help create more than 14 councils throughout the Inland Empire. Learn more at https://www.firesafenow.org/
About Precisely
Precisely is the global leader in data integrity, providing accuracy, consistency, and context in data for 12,000 customers in more than 100 countries, including 99 of the Fortune 100. Precisely’s data integration, data quality, data governance, location intelligence, and data enrichment products power better business decisions to create better outcomes. Learn more at www.precisely.com
