Understanding the Challenge of the Wildland-Urban Interface

As wildland fires in California and across the United States continue to intensify, agencies are faced with the growing challenge of managing the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). This zone, where communities and wildlands meet, presents a uniquely high-risk environment. For the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, the largest county in the United States, understanding the vulnerabilities of these areas was critical.

Traditional wildland fire risk assessments are often based on broad satellite data or generalized vegetation studies. While useful at a macro level, these tools fall short when it comes to providing actionable insights for specific neighborhoods, and individual homes. In regions where fires can spread rapidly from structure to structure, agencies need more than just a general overview, they need the full picture, and as much intel as possible.

San Bernardino County Fire Protection District recognized that it was no longer enough to only monitor fuel loads or vegetation density. To protect communities effectively, the department had to assess structural vulnerabilities, anticipate fire behavior at the local level, and create accurate pre-incident documentation. This required a shift from outdated workflows to a modern, data-driven approach powered by drone technology.

Deploying Nova to Map and Analyze High-Risk Areas

Under the leadership of Jeff Alexy, Head of the Robotics Program, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District launched an ambitious project to map its most fire-prone WUI environments. Using drones equipped for large-area capture, Jeff and his team surveyed thousands of acres (sometimes as much as 2,000 at a time) across both developed neighborhoods and the surrounding wildlands.

The Fontana North Neighborhood in San Bernardino County

These massive datasets were then processed using Nova’s orthomosaic mapping tools, which stitched the raw imagery into highly detailed, navigable maps. What once would have taken weeks to compile could now be completed in hours, offering a real-time understanding of fire risk landscapes.

The innovation did not stop with mapping. San Bernardino County Fire Protection District integrated Nova’s outputs with a platform designed to analyze vegetation encroachment and structural conditions. Together, the two systems enabled the fire department to go beyond assessing vegetation and begin identifying receptive fuel beds at the individual and home level. This meant considering not only the trees and brush near a property but also the construction materials of roofs, walls, and siding—all factors that determine how a wildfire might spread from one structure to another.

Results: From Fuel Mitigation to Fire Response

both planning and mitigation. For the first time, the department could visualize before-and-after conditions of fuel reduction projects with striking clarity. This helped the fire district confirm that mitigation efforts were making measurable impacts while also creating documentation for stakeholders and leadership teams.

More importantly, the integration of Nova imagery with AI analysis is providing a layered view of risk that was previously impossible. By identifying both vegetation hazards and structural vulnerabilities, cities could prioritize areas for fuel treatment, enforce defensible space, and prepare response strategies tailored to specific neighborhoods.

The benefits also extend to operational response. By maintaining a baseline of pre-incident conditions stored within Nova, the department is positioned to respond more effectively when wildland fires occur. Incident commanders will have access to detailed imagery and analytics, giving them an accurate view of the terrain and structures at risk which is critical intelligence during fast-moving wildland fire events.

Lessons Learned and Broader Impact

San Bernardino County Fire Protection District’s experience highlights several lessons for other agencies looking to modernize wildland fire risk assessment. Large-scale UAS mapping requires careful logistical planning, but the payoff in data accuracy and operational readiness is substantial. Pairing imagery with advanced analytics turns raw data into actionable intelligence, enabling agencies to see both the fuel loads and the structures that fires threaten.

Perhaps the most important takeaway is that you can’t manage what you can’t measure. By using Nova, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District has shifted from a broad, reactive approach to a targeted, proactive strategy that protects communities more effectively.

This approach is setting the standard for fire agencies across the country. With wildland fire seasons becoming longer, hotter, and more complex, integrating drone-based mapping with intelligent analysis is no longer a “nice to have” but a critical capability. San Bernardino County Fire Protection District isn’t just responding to today’s challenges; they’re showing what the future of wildland fire management looks like: proactive, data-driven, and grounded in preparedness.