Wildfires destroy forest resources, threaten people's lives and properties, and negatively influence industrial and agricultural production. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO ) estimates that forest industries contribute more than US$450 billion to national incomes, supply nearly 1% of the global GDP, 2008, and provide employment to 0.4% of the global labour force. Protecting these forests and increasing knowledge of how to reduce forest fires is therefore of high interest but is often limited by strained budgets and lack of awareness of the technology options in the market.

Fire management budgets and technology investments are still heavily weighted towards reactive fire suppression rather than proactive prevention. This results in an increase in firefighting costs and limited development in high-risk areas. This paper will focus on the savings that can be achieved by focusing investment on early detection, citing several studies which show that investment in early and accurate detection is the most effective way to save money, lives and resources associated with wildfire.

This paper will then look into some of the systems currently used in detecting wildfire, including watchtowers, CCTV, smoke detection cameras and thermal detection. This paper will also introduce new cost-effective and automated innovations using proven technology that can help decision-makers detect, map and monitor wildfire incidents early on before they turn into disasters. In dealing with wildfire, every minute is important, and the only way to reduce devastating effects and unnecessary suppression expenditures is to identify fires early and respond quickly.