NASA Awards OpalAI $1M+ to Transform Wildfire Intelligence with Multimodal AI Systems

We're thrilled to announce that NASA has awarded OpalAI over $1 million in Phase I & II SBIR funding to develop FireVision, an AI-powered platform that revolutionizes how communities predict, prepare for, and respond to wildfires.

This milestone signifies the trust NASA places in our team and serves as a validation of our mission to enhance wildfire intelligence, making it faster, smarter, and more accessible when every minute is critical.

Introducing FireVision: AI-Powered Wildfire Intelligence

FireVision transforms how we understand and respond to wildfire threats by fusing NASA satellite data with our advanced multimodal artificial intelligence system. Our platform delivers what traditional systems can't: real-time, high-resolution wildfire risk assessment and behavioral prediction.

How FireVision Works

• Real-Time Data Fusion: We integrate multiple data streams, NASA satellite imagery, weather forecasts, vegetation conditions, and topographic data, into a single, actionable intelligence platform.

• AI-Powered Predictions: Our proprietary Fire Potential Index (FPI) provides hourly wildfire risk forecasts up to 48 hours in advance, with 90% accuracy at 5 to 30-meter resolution.

• Advanced Simulation: Using physics-based fire simulators, FireVision predicts fire spread patterns, direction, and speed in both wildland and urban interface areas.

• Natural Language Interface: Users can query the system in plain English and receive immediate, actionable insights.

  
  

Overview of FireVision

What Makes FireVision Different: Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Focus

Unlike traditional wildfire tools that focus solely on wildland areas, FireVision is specifically engineered for the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure meet flammable vegetation. Our system maps individual building materials like roof types, analyzes defensible space around structures, and models how fires spread through the complex mix of natural fuels and human-built environments.

This WUI specialization enables FireVision to predict structure-to-structure fire spread, assess infrastructure vulnerabilities, and provide the granular intelligence that fire departments and utilities need to protect communities where people actually live and work.

What it Means for Stakeholders in the Wildfire Ecosystem

For Fire Departments & Emergency Agencies

Challenge: Making decisions with incomplete, outdated information during critical incident command operations.

Impact: FireVision dramatically accelerates situational awareness with real-time intelligence that outpaces traditional manual mapping and updates.

• Incident Action Plans (IAP): Real-time fire behavior predictions and spread modeling directly integrated into your IAP development, enabling more accurate resource assignments and tactical objectives.

• Resource Allocation & Mutual Aid: Dynamic risk mapping helps justify mutual aid requests and optimize apparatus deployment based on predicted fire progression

• Evacuation Zone Management: High-resolution fire spread simulations support evacuation order decisions and route planning, replacing guesswork with data-driven boundary setting

• Pre-Fire Planning & Community Risk Assessment: Automated fuel load mapping and risk scoring enhances your Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) updates and pre-fire tactical planning

• Integration with Fire Records Management Systems (RMS): Seamless data flow into existing CAD, GIS, and incident documentation systems

  
  

For Electric Utilities

Challenge: Meeting regulatory wildfire mitigation requirements while preventing ignitions and managing Public Safety Power Shutoff decisions.

Impact: FireVision delivers faster asset-level risk insights than traditional GIS tools, enabling split-second decisions that reduce outage footprints.

• Wildfire Mitigation Plans (WMP): Enhanced risk modeling provides quantifiable data for annual WMP submissions to regulators, demonstrating proactive hazard identification and mitigation effectiveness

• Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Optimization: Real-time fire weather forecasting and asset-specific risk assessment reduces unnecessary outages while ensuring customer safety during critical fire weather events

• Vegetation Management Program Enhancement: RoI validation for fuel reduction projects using before/after risk modeling, optimizing maintenance schedules and demonstrating regulatory compliance

• Grid Hardening Investment Justification: Circuit-level vulnerability assessments support business cases for undergrounding, equipment upgrades, and pole replacements in highest-risk areas

• Emergency Response Coordination: Direct integration with Utility Emergency Response Plans (UERP) and coordination with fire agencies during red flag events

  
  

For Government Agencies & Local Communities

Challenge: Developing effective Community Wildfire Protection Plans and emergency preparedness with limited technical resources.

Impact: FireVision shortens planning cycles with automated analysis that replaces weeks of manual GIS work in minutes.

• Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Development: Automated risk assessment and fuel mapping provides the technical foundation for CWPP updates, hazard identification, and mitigation project prioritization

• Evacuation Planning & Route Optimization: Fire spread modeling supports evacuation zone mapping and route capacity analysis, enhancing Emergency Operations Plan effectiveness

• Building Code & Planning Decisions: Parcel-level risk assessment informs defensible space requirements, building permit conditions, and development approval decisions in Wildland-Urban Interface areas

• Grant Application Support: Quantified risk data and mitigation ROI analysis strengthens applications for FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grants, CAL FIRE grants, and federal hazard mitigation funding

• Public Education & Outreach: Resident-facing risk dashboards and seasonal forecasts enhance community preparedness programs and evacuation compliance

Ready to Transform Your Wildfire Response?

Whether you're a fire chief planning resource deployment, a utility manager assessing grid risks, or a city/county OES preparing evacuation routes, FireVision can transform how you understand and respond to wildfire threats.

See FireVision in Action: We're currently conducting pilot programs with fire departments, govt. agencies and utilities.

Start the Conversation: Every stakeholder's wildfire challenges are unique. Let's discuss how FireVision can address your specific needs and help protect what matters most to you.

Ready to give your team the intelligence advantage they need?

Contact us at info@opal-ai.com or visit opal-ai.com/fire-vision to learn more about bringing AI-powered wildfire intelligence to your organization.