Press & News

How some high-tech entrepreneurs are trying to use new forms of technology to solve the problem of mega-wildfires in the age of climate change.

August 30, 2024

Game Changers: How Fire Aside Is Helping Communities Adapt to Wildfires

August 23, 2024

First of Its Kind Defensible Space Software Brings Significant Improvements To The Entire Tahoe Basin

May 29, 2024

It doesn't have to be rocket science

May 4, 2024

Marin firm aims to track and fix hazards linked to North Bay’s fire, earthquake threats

November 13, 2023

A new wave of startups is tackling a huge emissions source: wildfires

November 10, 2023

Redefining the wildfire problem and scaling solutions to meet the challenge

November 8, 2023

Marin Voice: Wildfire Prevention Authority Working To Preserve Insurance Coverage

August 28, 2023

MWPA’s comprehensive property evaluation, home-hardening and defensible-space program helps residents proactively protect their homes based on wildfire mitigation professionals’ recommendations. The MWPA “chipper day” program is free to residents and supports the disposal of vegetation removed to create a fire smart landscape. The MWPA resident grant program supports home-hardening and the creation of defensible space.

First-in-the-nation regulation can help Truckee, Tahoe residents get insurance discounts

July 27, 2023

Eric Horntvedt, Wildfire Prevention Manager for Truckee Fire writes: A number of new programs will help Truckee and Donner Summit area residents make their properties more fire-safe and may get them insurance policy discounts, too

AI wildfire detectors, controlled burn robots: Inside the future of firetech and the VC making it happen

July 24, 2023

Last month Fire Aside became the latest wildfire tech startup to receive funding from Convective Capital, a venture fund that focuses on supporting startups tackling wildfire prevention, risk mitigation, suppression and recovery. Fire Aside is the leading software tool for communities to inspect and protect homes and infrastructure from the rising threat of climate change. Over 1 million properties with wildfire risk are covered through the platform, a number that has doubled in the last year.

Are property owners or renters responsible for reducing risk of wildfire? Short answer: both

July 13, 2023

Fire Aside partner Truckee Fire weighs in and highlights the resources they are providing to help renters and property owners alike adapt to wildfire including the GreenWaste program and Defensible Space Inspections powered by Fire Aside software

Truckee taxpayers approved a wildfire prevention tax, and those dollars are helping with all kinds of wildfire prevention efforts

July 12, 2023

"Do your defensible space work, remove your shrubs, limb up your trees, remove those smaller trees," Horntvedt said. "Pile it all right the edge of the street, and the fire district has this huge grapple truck that comes and picks it up for free."

North Bay wildfire prevention team inspect homes, neighborhoods for potential "fuel for fires"

June 23, 2023

Proud to activate individual property owners for community level risk reduction. " A good 75 to 80 percent of people have actually worked on some things in the report form the previous year."

North Tahoe Fire, Parasol team to expand wildfire resilience through defensible space software

June 1, 2023

“Fire prevention and safety remains one of the Community Foundation’s top priorities,” said the Community Foundation’s CEO Claudia Andersen. “The Fire Aside software directly addresses the mission of our Tahoe Fire Safe Initiative and is an important way for us to invest in the safety of our community now and into the future.”

North Tahoe Fire, Parasol team to expand wildfire resilience through defensible space software

June 1, 2023

North Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Ryan Sommers shared, “By using Fire Aside DSI 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. We are so grateful to our partners at Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation for their commitment to build a more wildfire resilient community.”

Preparing your home for wildfire season here's what you need to know

June 1, 2023

Fire Aside partner in Santa Rosa articulates why home hardening and defensible space is so critical: "While we tend to think of wildfires as the giant walls of flames that dominate media coverage, in the vast majority of cases where homes catch fires, Safford said, the cause is “something that probably is the size of a pea, or more accurately, 50 things that are the size of a pea” – embers."

Ember storms: What you need to know to help protect your home from wildfires

June 1, 2023

Fire Aside partner Max Young in Ventura sharing best practices (hint they use Fire Aside Defensible Space Inspection software)

Chipper Time Again

May 1, 2023

Orinda adopted Fire Aside’s ChipperDay software last August. Ninety-five percent of residents rated their chipping experience 4+ and 89% gave it a solid 5.

‘A whole new ballgame’: Berkeley’s aggressive new plan to prevent wildfire

May 1, 2023

The city’s recently completed Community Wildfire Protection Plan guides a major expansion in strategies and resources to reduce fire risk including expanding the successful DSI program, powered by Fire Aside's Defensibile Space Inpsection software and in offering city wide chipping, powered by Fire Aside’s ChipperDay software.

Truckee Fire District prepares for upcoming wildfire season

May 1, 2023

Through its partnership with Fire Aside, Truckee Fire is providing custom defensible space inspections (DSI) to homeowners, residents and community members. These inspections offer an interactive to-do list offering clear and detailed information on how to create a more fire safe environment.

The 2023 Marin ChipperDay Program Ramps Up After Successful 2022 Season

April 1, 2023

The Marin ChipperDay Program, powered by Fire Aside’s ChipperDay software, makes it easier than ever for residents who are looking to remove hazardous vegetation and create defensible space around their home to schedule a pick-up for their property. ‍

Tree debris? Berkeley will pick it up for free

March 1, 2023

The “Chipper Day” program, now operating as part of the city’s Fire Safe Berkeley initiative, will offer rounds of free vegetation pickup anywhere in the city from April to September. (It was previously only available to residents in hillside high-risk fire zones from June to September and was housed under the Department of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront.)