Man-made or nature-triggered, controlling and mitigating the damaging effects of wildfires is important work in Canada.
They cannot be fully eliminated, but they can be optimally managed.
Prevention is the best medicine, which involves improved forest management among other things.
But once a fire has sparked, the next best approach is putting it out quickly—and that’s where modern technologies are starting to help.
Organizations across B.C. are collaborating to prioritize wildfire prevention and suppression with the assistance of technological means.
Prince George’s Strategic Natural Resource Group and Squamish’s FireSwarm Solutions this month revealed an partnership with Innergex Renewable Energy, an renewable power producer that operates hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, solar farms, and energy storage facilities across Canada, the U.S., France, and Chile.
“We are committed to the safety of our neighbours and protection of our assets,” says Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Development for Western Canada at Innergex.
FireSwarm deploys autonomous drone swarms to mitigate wildfire situations. The firm’s flagship product is a heavy-lift, long-endurance unmanned drone army powered by an AI-driven surveillance platform.
“With this new partnership, we are enhancing our already comprehensive wildfire prevention and mitigation plans by incorporating additional wildfire resiliency and crew response capability,” Giroux-Schmidt said.
“We will be exploring and testing these solutions, and we intend to expand their implementation to various sites, projects, and communities,” she said.
FireSwarm chief executive officer Alex Deslauriers stated that “Innergex’s climate leadership makes them the partner of choice for integrating FireSwarm’s technological advancement in wildfire response into a community-based effort aimed at protecting valuable assets at a regional scale.”
Strategic, which began working with FireSwarm earlier this year, will provide technical expertise and project management services.
“Strategic is proud to continue partnering with a company like Innergex, who has developed and maintained meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities in B.C. for decades,” remarked Domenico Iannidinardo, CEO of Strategic Natural Resource Group. “Their commitment to wildfire resiliency solutions demonstrates their commitment in protecting their assets but most importantly in being a responsible developer and good neighbour.”
FireSwarm, a 2025 TIA finalist, last year partnered with Tsunami Solutions. The startup has been recognized by XPRIZE.