The Battle Against Wildfires

Prisha Shroff could hardly believe what she was seeing from the backseat of her family’s car. As a huge wildfire raged nearby, a haze of smoke filled the air and police blocked the road ahead. 

“It was burning everything in its path,” recalls Prisha, now 15. “We were forced to turn back.”

The Chandler, Arizona, teen was visiting California with her family in 2020 when they encountered a blaze known as the August Complex fire. It consumed more than 1 million acres and destroyed hundreds of homes. For weeks after it began that August, people across the state were told to stay inside to avoid inhaling dangerous smoke.

“After seeing the devastating impact that the wildfire was having, it really showed me that there’s a need for some solution,” says Prisha.

With a love of science and coding, she decided to tackle the problem herself. Over several months, Prisha developed a computer program that uses artificial intelligence to predict wildfires. It collects and analyzes satellite data such as temperature, soil, moisture, and wind. If a place is at high risk, the program can alert authorities and potentially even send drones to spray a substance that can slow the spread of the fire.

Prisha Shroff could hardly believe what she was seeing from the backseat of her family’s car. As a huge wildfire raged nearby, a haze of smoke filled the air. In response, the police had blocked the road ahead.

“It was burning everything in its path,” recalls Prisha, now 15. “We were forced to turn back.”

The Chandler, Arizona, teen was visiting California with her family in 2020. During the trip, they came across a blaze known as the August Complex fire. It burned through more than 1 million acres and destroyed hundreds of homes. For weeks after it began that August, people across the state were told to stay inside. The advice was intended to keep people from inhaling harmful smoke.

“After seeing the devastating impact that the wildfire was having, it really showed me that there’s a need for some solution,” says Prisha.

With a love of science and coding, she decided to tackle the problem herself. Over several months, Prisha built a computer program to predict wildfires. The program uses artificial intelligence. It collects and analyzes satellite data such as temperature, soil, moisture, and wind. If a place is at high risk, the program can alert authorities. It even has the potential to send drones to spray the area to slow the spread of the fire.

Systems like Prisha’s—which is still in the works—may be increasingly needed, especially in the United States, where wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe because of factors such as climate change.

Between January and July of this year, 39,226 wildfires scorched more than 5.7 million acres of U.S. land, according to a report from the National Interagency Fire Center. This includes the McKinney fire, which burned more than 55,000 acres in Northern California in a single July weekend, making it one of the nation’s worst years ever for fire activity. 

Wildfires can burn through homes and crops, displacing residents and causing tens of billions of dollars in economic damage per year.

Prisha’s system is still in the works. Systems like it may be needed now and even more in the future, especially in the United States. Across the nation, wildfires are becoming more frequent and stronger because of factors such as climate change.

Between January and July of this year, 39,226 wildfires scorched more than 5.7 million acres of U.S. land, according to a report from the National Interagency Fire Center. This includes the McKinney fire. It burned more than 55,000 acres in Northern California in a single July weekend. That made this year one of the nation’s worst years ever for fire activity. 

Wildfires can burn through homes and crops. As a result, they displace residents and cause tens of billions of dollars in economic damage per year.

While new data show that wildfires threaten more of the country than people might realize—and that risk is expected to grow—most of the nation’s wildfires have occurred in the West. Wildfires have burned in the region for thousands of years, but in recent years, they’ve become more severe because of human activity and climate change.

“Climate change is leading to conditions on the ground we have never encountered,” says U.S. Forest Service chief Randy Moore. “We know these conditions are leading to more frequent and intense wildfires.”

The West is full of vegetation such as pine needles, dry grasses, and shrubs that are more flammable than the moist leaves found in the forests of the East Coast. And record-breaking heat has led to historic drought in the West during the past two years, which makes the vegetation more flammable.

Climate change has also lengthened the fire season, which now starts earlier in the year and lasts longer. On average, the fire season has become two-and-a-half months longer than it was in the 1970s. 

These conditions have been worsened by fire-suppression policies. Before the settlement of the West, forested land in the region burned naturally from lightning or was intentionally burned by native communities. These burnings helped rid the forest of the dead leaves and limbs that fuel wildfires. But beginning in the 20th century, the U.S. had a policy of putting out fires as quickly as possible, which led to increasingly dense forests full of flammable brush.

New data show that wildfires threaten more of the country than people might realize. That risk is expected to grow. Most of the nation’s wildfires have happened in the West. Wildfires have burned in the region for thousands of years. But they’ve become more severe in recent years because of human activity and climate change.

“Climate change is leading to conditions on the ground we have never encountered,” says U.S. Forest Service chief Randy Moore. “We know these conditions are leading to more frequent and intense wildfires.”

The West is full of plant life such as pine needles, dry grasses, and shrubs. These are more flammable than the moist leaves found in the forests of the East Coast. And record-breaking heat has led to historic drought in the West during the past two years. That’s made the plants there more flammable.

Climate change also has lengthened the fire season. Now it starts earlier in the year and lasts longer. On average, the fire season has become two-and-a-half months longer than it was in the 1970s. 

These conditions have gotten worse because of policies aimed at controlling fires. Before the settlement of the West, forested land in the region burned naturally from lightning or was burned on purpose by native communities. These burnings helped rid the forest of the dead leaves and large branches that fuel wildfires. But beginning in the 20th century, the U.S. had a policy of putting out fires as quickly as possible. That practice led to more dense forests full of brush that can easily burns.

Experts agree that prescribed burns, or fires set intentionally to periodically clear underbrush, are a key to reducing the severity of future wildfires. Last year, the Forest Service used prescribed fires across a record 1.8 million acres of federal land, and the agency hopes to ramp up operations in the coming years.   

In addition, the U.S. government has set aside $234 million to fund wildfire prevention and recovery efforts, and President Biden has created a commission to study how best to prevent and manage wildfires. 

As for Prisha, she continues to perfect her system. In 2021, she won a $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention, an annual prize given to a young inventor with a promising solution to a problem.

Prisha hopes her program will become something that officials can use to help prevent wildfires in the future.

“I really want to save people’s lives and also protect the environment,” she says. “That’s what keeps me going.”

Experts agree that prescribed burns, or fires set on purpose to clear underbrush, are a key to reducing the damage caused by future wildfires. Last year, the Forest Service used prescribed fires across a record 1.8 million acres of federal land. The agency hopes to increase its efforts in the coming years.

In addition, the U.S. government has set aside $234 million to fund wildfire prevention and recovery efforts. President Biden also has created a group to study how best to prevent and manage wildfires. 

As for Prisha, she continues to perfect her system. In 2021, she won a $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention. Every year, a young inventor with a promising solution to a problem receives this prize.

Prisha hopes her program will become something that officials can use to help prevent wildfires in the future.

“I really want to save people’s lives and also protect the environment,” she says. “That’s what keeps me going.”

With reporting from Winston Choi-Schagrin, Elena Shao, Ashley Wu, and Matthew Cullen of The New York Times.

With reporting from Winston Choi-Schagrin, Elena Shao, Ashley Wu, and Matthew Cullen of The New York Times.