Wildland Fire Origin & Cause Investigations

How do we determine the origin and cause of wildland fires?

Our multidisciplinary teams conduct independent investigations of wildland fire sites, gathering data on the ground, in the air, and behind the scenes. Our experts examine sites in person, fly drones to capture aerial footage of burned zones, perform photogrammetric analysis, assess satellite data, and work to evaluate data about the landscape and nearby infrastructure.

With more than 50 years of experience in fire investigation, we conduct thorough fire-origin and root-cause analyses for wildland fires. We deliver rigorous, science-backed wildfire reports to law firms, insurance companies, industrial manufacturers, government agencies, municipalities, private landowners, etc.

Multidisciplinary expertise for wildland fire investigations

Exponent's wildland fire investigators can turn to a wide variety of in-house engineering and science expertise, including thermal, electrical, mechanical, metallurgical, and civil engineering, as well as geology and fire science, to help analyze data collected at wildland fire sites. These multidisciplinary teams have decades of experience in their fields and can work together to deliver extensive wildland fire assessments that include more than just basic origin identification.

Our experts perform detailed surveys of the area of origin, evaluate electrical/mechanical data, conduct aerial surveys of burned areas, perform weather modeling, and gather GIS and satellite data for computer simulations. We can assess and analyze nearby infrastructure, buildings, machinery, vehicles, electrical components, and even consumer products to help determine any role they may have played in starting a wildland fire.