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Last week Stanford Energy hosted a Research Showcase to introduce potential partners to some of the research it’s doing. The talks were fascinating, highlighting the wide range of expertise and equipment that enables Stanford to do world-class research. Talks ranged from bio-hacking algae in order to improve photosynthesis to deploying SLAC’s synchrotron to analyze the performance of battery cathodes and electrolyzers.
Impressive but … intimidating? What I want to emphasize today is that you don’t have to be a rocket scientist in order to make real progress on important climate issues. In honor of Wildfire Preparedness Day, which is today (Saturday May 4), I want to share with you two projects that, while taking an uncommon amount of dedication, are making an impact without especially rarified skills and equipment.
Fire Aside
Jason Brooks became concerned about wildfire after the devastating North Bay fires in fall of 2017. He and his neighbors in Marin worried about their homes but found it difficult to get good information on how to protect them. “Life is busy for many of us, and even if we were able to get an assessment from the fire department, the output wasn’t helpful. ‘Remove vegetation.’ Where? How much?” It was frustrating.
Once they did remove some vegetation, Brooks found the county’s chipping program to be very inefficient. It was difficult to schedule pickups and the operation was slow. With his experience building tech platforms, Brooks offered to make some improvements, simplifying scheduling and optimizing the routes using mapping technology for streamlined pickups. Homeowners found it much easier to schedule and requests started pouring in. The county got its work done more quickly and appreciated that the platform tracked how much vegetation was being cleared and where, helping them to target future work.
“For years this was a hobby project, a labor of love.”
Jason Brooks, CEO and co-founder of Fire Aside
Encouraged by that success, Brooks and some friends with similar tech experience decided to digitize the paper-intensive home assessment program. Fire companies in Marin, Tahoe, Napa, and elsewhere were struggling to keep up with requests, and homeowners were slow to take action. The Fire Aside platform that Brooks and his colleagues developed for the fire departments changed all that. Inspections are faster and reports provide detailed recommended actions with photos. Homeowners are easily able to review suggestions, get feedback on improvements, and even find sources of funding, all through a web interface.
The fire chiefs and assessors love it. For one thing, it saves them a lot of time. One inspector told Brooks “I used to go out and do 100 inspections but then get 99 calls from people asking questions like ‘Which juniper, tree or structure do I remove?’ The investment in Fire Aside’s software has eliminated almost all of those follow up requests, freeing up our time to do more inspections and improve overall resident engagement.“ Homeowners are also more likely to take action. North Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Ryan Sommers says “By using Fire Aside software, we can visit more homes, offer more thorough action items to residents and therefore dramatically increase the number of fire resistant homes in the community.”
This means that fire departments can do more with their time and their budget. Fire Aside data shows that for every $1 spent on wildfire programming, residents spend $5 on reducing wildfire risk on their property. The software allows departments to measure the impact of the investments that they are making, which is critical for getting grants for wildfire prevention. Indeed, Brooks says, “Our number one metric is the same one that many fire departments use, namely did a homeowner take action.”
Homeowners appreciate the detailed assessment reports as well. Fire Aside not only recommends specific actions, it also provides a way for homeowners to get feedback — “Did I do it correctly?” — and to find potential sources of funding. Brooks says that the work need not be expensive. Covering vents, removing mulch, and trimming branches can be low cost. And when a project is pricey, like replacing a wooden deck or wooden fence, a simplification like replacing only the planks nearest the house with non-combustible material can make a difference in protecting the home.
Brooks switched to working full-time on Fire Aside last summer, and he is excited about what’s to come. “The first version we mostly focused on putting paper onto digital platforms. But now we can really take advantage of digital. We can remind people about chipping or other actions they can take. We can also prioritize areas for fire departments, for example where we see a lot of eucalyptus.” He is gratified by the adoption they are seeing. “We doubled chipper reservations this year, and one-third of them were brand new. Last year homeowners using Fire Aside spent an average of 24 hours and $800 fire-proofing their homes. That is a substantial investment, and really extends the impact of the fire departments and fire safe councils…. People don’t want their house to burn down. They just need the right guidance.”
Fire Aside has strict privacy policies and does not share any information with insurance companies. But it is easy for homeowners to choose to do so. That will be increasingly important as homes in wildfire areas get discounts for defensible space and home hardening.
Fire Aside and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council
Fire Aside is currently used in 20 California counties and 5 western states, and a new partnership with the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council hopes to extend that throughout California. Seth Schalet, CEO of Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, has seen great success with Fire Aside throughout Santa Clara County over the last three years. “We originally brought on Fire Aside to support our chipping program, and within the last year added their Defensible Space tool as one of the early adopters. Now, we have expanded our partnership as their reseller in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, and to all 250 Fire Safe Councils statewide.”
More adoption improves the product. “Each fire department is different,” observes Brooks. “We often have to implement customizations as we expand. But the Fire Aside platform is in a position to facilitate sharing of best practices, so that helps everyone. We are starting to see that, both via the platform and in conferences we are hosting.”
Schalet’s FireSafe Council enjoys evaluating and sponsoring new wildfire technology in addition to the work of clearing evacuation routes, creating fuel breaks, and generally mobilizing the people of Santa Clara County to protect their homes, communities, and environment from wildfires. Schalet spoke recently at a local wildfire hackathon, and enjoys encouraging entrepreneurs of all ages to address the problems the county is facing.
Clore
In his outreach to innovators, Schalet came across a pair of high schoolers operating a business that produces and sells a fire retardant. I had a chance to talk with the founders, Sebastien Burkhardt and Barrett Deng, who have spent several years building Clore. The two friends became concerned about wildfire when, on vacation in Boston, smoke from Canadian wildfires filled the air. The smoke pushed them indoors, where they worried about the impact on forests and people’s homes.
Back in school, an inspiring eighth grade teacher encouraged the two to find ways to do something about their concerns. At first Burkhardt and Deng thought they might do something with drones, but they couldn’t figure out a good plan. With the help of some chemists they knew, they settled on developing a fire retardant. They talked with wildfire managers and potential customers, researched the product space, chose a name and logo, and put together a business plan and website.
They have spent time in Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and other parts of the wildland urban interface, communicating to homeowners the importance of defensible space. “Wildfire can be a good thing, but we need to protect our buildings,” says Burkhardt. “Our product helps people to do that.” Deng believes that places where there is a lot of density are good sites for their projects, such as condominiums or summer camps at the edges of forests.
Clore is working with the Santa Clara FireSafe Council to get the word out about their product. With some of the Peninsula towns west of 280 starting to require defensible space, Clore may see a bump in sales. In the meantime, I asked the founders what they had learned in starting up their business that surprised them. Both echoed how much work it has been. “It was much harder than I expected,” said Burkhardt. “Nothing is straight-forward. Lawyers make me crazy!” Deng said he thought that their age would be an issue, but that hasn’t been the case. “When people have a problem that Clore addresses, they listen.”
Taking Action
If you are in a wildfire-prone area, this is a good time to harden your home and create defensible space around it, before late summer and fall’s heat and winds help to ignite and spread wildfires. You can call your local fire department or fire council for advice on how to get started. If you live in Santa Clara County, the FireSafe Council has helpful information. You can also subscribe to their informative newsletter. If you live west of 280 in San Mateo County, you might take a look at Woodside Fire’s assessment program.
If you don’t live in a high-risk area, you are still vulnerable to smoke. Consider a homemade air filter, or something more packaged. Some of you may have filters in your car or your air conditioner to clean. It’s good to be ready, though I hope we are lucky again with a low fire year this year. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your experiences with or questions about wildfire impacts and prevention.
Current Climate Data
Global impacts (March 2024), US impacts (March 2024), CO2 metric, Climate dashboard
Help Take Care of Our Creeks!
Last Saturday Friends of Stevens Creek and the City of Mountain View had a very successful weed eradication effort, gathering 60 bags of invasive thistle weighing over 1000 pounds!
On Saturday May 18, from 9am to noon, they will be conducting another cleanup along Stevens Creek, starting at Sleeper Park in Mountain View. All are welcome, but it is important that you register first.
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