U.S. Faces Seven Critical—but Addressable—Wildfire Intelligence Gaps, New Study Finds
National Science and Technology Organizations Chart a Path to Stronger Federal Wildfire Response
In recognition of National Wildfire Awareness Month, seven leading nonprofit research organizations have joined forces to help the federal government close urgent wildfire intelligence gaps and safeguard American communities.
Wildfires pose a mounting national threat: nearly 50 million homes in 70,000 U.S. communities are at risk, with annual economic damages estimated at between $394 billion and $900 billion, according to the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee in a 2023 report. Since 2000, an annual average of 70,025 wildfires have burned an annual average of 7.0 million acres, more than double the average burned in the 1990s.
To accelerate progress in addressing wildfire threats, experts from The Aerospace Corporation, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The MITRE Corporation, and the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research formed the Wildfire Working Group (WWG). Their May 2025 white paper outlines practical, scalable solutions for strategically addressing key capability gaps in wildfire intelligence, highlighting associated investments needed.
"No miracle technologies are needed—existing and emerging solutions can dramatically improve our national wildfire response," the WWG noted. "With coordinated action, the U.S. can make significant strides in protecting lives, property, and ecosystems."
The study spotlights seven critical areas where focused investments can deliver outsized benefits, especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI):
1. Last Mile Communications:
Frontline responders are often cut off from reliable voice, data, and video links in remote fire zones, hampering coordination and safety. Rapid deployment of commercial satellite communications and next-generation handhelds can close this gap, ensuring incident command and crews stay connected where it matters most.
2. Common Operating Picture (COP):
Non-standardized data and systems across federal, state, tribal, and local agencies limit shared situational awareness. Advancing interoperable platforms like the Team Awareness Kit (TAK), with wildfire-specific data integration and civil sector collaboration, will enable unified, real-time decision-making.
3. Rapid Detection:
Critical minutes are lost if new ignitions go unnoticed. AI-powered wildfire cameras installed throughout high-risk communities can deliver near-instant detection and alerts, helping responders act before small fires become disasters.
4. Unmounted Firefighter Tracking:
Lack of real-time location tracking for firefighters puts safety and operational efficiency at risk. Equipping crews with proven tracking devices and TAK-enabled handsets will provide continuous, interoperable personnel tracking for better oversight and rapid response.
5. Persistent Surveillance:
Most wildfire-prone regions lack sufficient monitoring assets, limiting real-time intelligence for strategic and tactical decisions. If fully deployed as planned, emerging commercial satellite constellations and persistent surveillance technologies could deliver 10–20-minute revisit rates over the U.S., transforming situational awareness and fire management.
6. Fuels Intelligence:
Outdated and sparse fuels data hinder accurate fire modeling and wildfire preparedness. Development of advanced algorithms, utilization of hyperspectral imagery, and unified fuels intelligence processing will produce timely, high-resolution data to support smarter mitigation and response.
7. Weather Intelligence:
Under-equipped weather monitoring and fragmented fire-weather modeling degrade forecasts and operational planning. Expanding sensor networks, deploying boundary layer drones, and scaling up modeling capacity—potentially via a national fire weather center—will provide actionable, timely weather insights.
Cutting across all seven capability gaps, the WWG further recommends the establishment of a National Wildfire Intelligence Center (NWIC) featuring regional or state-level hubs as a force multiplier to rapidly prototype and deploy new solutions, ensure national access across the U.S. to authoritative wildfire data, and deliver timely, fused intelligence products using a state-of-the-art, scalable infrastructure.
As the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy considers new approaches to strengthen wildfire preparedness and response through its 2025 Request for Information to increase wildfire fire-fighting capabilities, the WWG stands ready to support the creation of a national technology roadmap to keep American communities safer and more resilient.
Read the Wildfire Working Group summary white paper here
Released May 19, 2026
