Using applied research to predict and prevent wildfires

As wildfire seasons grow longer, more destructive, and more costly across British Columbia, communities are looking for new ways to predict risk, strengthen preparedness, and protect critical ecosystems and infrastructure.

That growing challenge is driving demand for applied research partnerships that can move innovation beyond the lab and into real-world wildfire management.

At the University of British Columbia Okanagan, Professor Mathieu Bourbonnais and his collaborators are developing real-time environmental monitoring systems designed to help identify high-risk wildfire conditions before fires escalate. Supported through Mitacs-enabled research collaboration, the work combines IoT sensor technology, field research, and community partnerships to strengthen wildfire resilience across the province.

“Fire is one of those things that can be both good and bad. It’s really important in a lot of our ecosystems right across Canada. But it also can have really devastating impacts on our communities like where I live here in Kelowna, and other communities I’ve been to across Canada.”

Professor Mathieu Bourbonnais, UBC, Okanagan

The research focuses on collecting real-time environmental data to support faster, more informed wildfire response and prevention efforts. In collaboration with the B.C. Wildfire Service, the project’s early proof of concept supported prescribed burn operations while also helping reinvigorate Indigenous cultural burning practices tied to long-term ecological stewardship and fire management.

“The Mitacs Accelerate program really helped us scale this a lot faster from the conception of the idea, especially around the sensors and some of the modeling, and then getting it out in the field quite rapidly for prototyping,” explains Bourbonnais.

As the work evolved beyond the research stage, it helped support broader wildfire resilience initiatives across British Columbia, including a $2.3 million partnership with the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of BC to support the development of fire management frameworks, as well as a provincial wildfire camera network developed alongside the BC Wildfire Service.

The research has also contributed to the development of Canada’s first National Prescribed Fire Training Program, supported through $8 million in funding to expand wildfire preparedness capacity and training.