Wildfire Risk in the Northeast

Firescape Founder and CEO Holly Eagleston was interviewed by Renewable Energy World on how utilities in the Northeast can best approach wildfire risk. Wildfire is no longer a western problem, and the Northeast's fire season and hazards are distinctly different from those of the west coast. The Northeast is made up of deciduous forests, and its fire season is relatively short and distinct: it concentrates in spring after snowmelt and in fall after leaves fall, when dry leaf litter creates hazardous conditions. Flash droughts can push conditions from benign to dangerous in days rather than months-long drought that the western US sees. Fires there tend to be less intense than in the West, but they burn much closer to homes and infrastructure. Eagleston explains why utilities need region-specific strategies, and how Firescape's granular decision-making tool enables utilities to make defensible decisions.