Automated Wildfire Defense: Protecting Your Home When You're Not There

# Automated Wildfire Defense: Protecting Your Home When You're Not There

The 2025 Palisades fire moved so fast that many homeowners had 15 minutes to evacuate. Grab your family, pets, documents. Drive away watching smoke in the mirror. Wonder if you'll have anything to come back to.

That scenario is why automated defense systems exist.

## The problem with manual systems

Traditional active defense—roof sprinklers, water curtains, exterior wetting—works well under specific conditions: you're home when fire threatens, you have time to turn everything on, power stays up, and you choose to stay (which is dangerous and often illegal during mandatory evacuations).

In mega-fires, none of that holds. You evacuate hours before fire arrives. Power fails. Cell service drops. Your manual system sits idle while embers land on your roof.

## What automation does

Automated systems solve this with three capabilities:

First, autonomous detection. Sensors monitor smoke levels, temperature, wind, barometric pressure. Some systems pull fire perimeter data from public APIs. Software assesses threat level without waiting for a human decision.

Second, automatic activation. When threat criteria are met, sprinklers start. Backup power engages if the grid drops. The system sends alerts to your phone (if cell service exists) but doesn't wait for permission.

Third, continuous operation. Systems run until the threat passes, water runs out, or someone manually overrides. No human presence required.

## The power problem

Here's where current systems fail: wildfires knock out power. Trees fall on lines. Utilities shut down proactively. Your automated system dies.

Standard answer: backup power. Generators. Battery banks.

This works until generators fail, run out of fuel, or won't start. Batteries deplete. If your fire event lasts 6 hours and your battery bank holds 4, you've got 2 hours of unprotected roof.

## Fire-activated fallback

We're building systems with a different approach. The primary system uses grid power with battery backup, standard configuration. But if all electronics fail, mechanical fire-activated valves take over.

Heat from approaching fire triggers the valve release. Water flows through purely mechanical means. No electricity. No software. No batteries.

Fire threatening your home literally activates its defense.

This is the failsafe we wanted: a system that works even when everything else breaks.

## What this looks like in practice

6:00 AM — Santa Ana winds pick up. System notes elevated fire conditions.

8:00 AM — Fire starts 15 miles away. System monitors perimeter data.

10:30 AM — Evacuation order. You leave immediately.

11:00 AM — Cell towers fail. No communication.

12:15 PM — Fire reaches 1 mile out. System activates sprinklers automatically.

12:30 PM — Grid power fails. Backup batteries engage.

1:00 PM — Ember showers begin. Roof sprinklers extinguish embers on contact.

1:45 PM — Batteries deplete. Fire-activated valves take over.

2:00 PM — Fire front hits property. Heat triggers final water release, saturating exterior.

3:00 PM — Fire passes. House standing.

You were 50 miles away.

## Integration

Our systems integrate with Home Assistant and standard smart home infrastructure. Monitor status remotely. Get threat alerts. Manual override when needed. Water level notifications. No proprietary lock-in.

## Cost

Professional automated systems currently run $50,000-150,000. Out of reach for most people.

We're targeting $25,000-40,000 installed, with financing options. The fire-activated fallback technology adds resilience without the extreme cost of redundant electronics.

## Is this for you?

Consider automated defense if you're in a high-risk fire zone, if you evacuate during fire season, if your property is high-value or irreplaceable, if insurance is difficult to get, or if you simply can't tolerate the uncertainty.

Start with an assessment. We'll tell you honestly whether your situation calls for automation or whether simpler approaches are sufficient.

## What we're building

Our systems launch in 2026. The goal is straightforward: homes that protect themselves when everyone has evacuated, when power has failed, when every other system has broken down.

Fire-activated response. The threat itself triggers the defense.