Los Altos Hills is exploring the use of AI tech in wildfire prevention and early detection through Southern California-based company Sensory AI.
While no definitive contracts or agreements have been established, Sensory AI’s CEO Hooman Honary gave a presentation to Los Altos Hills’ Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee at the group’s Oct. 6 meeting.
A representative from Sensory AI has been in communication with Los Altos Hills’ Technology Committee, but this meeting served as the company’s formal introduction to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee.
The presentation highlighted the ways in which Sensory AI’s tech is able to detect wildfires before, during and after initial ignition, as well as the company’s goals and history.
Sensory AI’s founder, Ryan Honary, began developing the company’s fire detection sensors in 2018 in response to the Paradise Camp Fires, which burned over 150,000 acres in Northern California.
“We’ve developed a heterogeneous network of sensors that look for a variety of … elements that contribute to the risk of fire,” Hooman Honary said. “The idea is to have a data-driven and science-driven methodology to determine risk in real time.”
Some key factors these sensors monitor include vegetation type, vegetation and soil moisture and wind level, alongside various other factors, Honary said. Additionally, Honary noted that the sensors can be made more or less sensitive depending on weather conditions, at the behest of firefighting personnel.
Specifically, this technology is intended to combat wind-driven fires which, in recent years, have caused substantial damage in Southern California.
Honary pointed to the 2025 Palisades Fires in Los Angeles County, the effects of which were worsened by high wind speeds combined with dry vegetation.
“Early detection is really very very important; that minute makes a difference,” he said. “These types of fires that we have in California grow exponentially, so any reduction in response time yields exponential benefits.”
He added that these sensors are intended to work alongside ALERTCalifornia, as an advanced alternative to N5 sensors commonly used in wildfire detection. Sensory AI also offers Chat GPT integration to aid in response to the sensors’ findings, as part of the company’s partnership with OpenAI.
However, Honary emphasized that all response decisions come down to human decision-makers using the technology.
Sensory AI currently has partnerships with the city of Irvine and Orange County, both in Southern California.
At this time, none of these sensors have been placed in Los Altos Hills and no agreements between the city and Sensory AI have been reached, but Sensory AI has begun surveying the area to determine how this technology could best be utilized locally.
