From Static Assessments to Actionable, Collaborative Mitigation Priorities: Peer-Reviewed Study Shows How the Vibrant Planet Platform Modernizes Wildfire Risk Planning

TRUCKEE, CA (4 February 2026) A new peer-reviewed paper in Ecological Modelling demonstrates how the Vibrant Planet Platform (VPP) can help land managers accelerate wildfire risk mitigation planning—bridging the gap between Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessments (QWRA) and the practical, cross-boundary decisions agencies and communities must make to reduce risk at scale.

The publication was co-written by a group of current and former Vibrant Planet and Pyrologix team members. Rather than relying solely on internal validation, the team chose to submit their work to a peer-reviewed scientific journal, where it underwent evaluation by independent reviewers with no affiliation to Vibrant Planet. This decision reflects the company’s commitment to Open Science as a Public Benefit Corporation—a commitment also embodied through its sister nonprofit, the Vibrant Planet Data Commons, a 501(c)(3) which advances Open Science by making cutting-edge data, models, and tools openly accessible for scientific research, education, and public benefit. 

The authors describe how to move beyond static risk assessments by using VPP in operational planning that incorporates treatment alternatives, stakeholder priorities, and implementation constraints. Building on the widely used GTR-315 Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment framework, the platform translates risk information into decision-ready, implementation-oriented priorities across jurisdictions and landscapes. The platform is designed to enable transparent planning discussions, rapid scenario evaluation, and defensible prioritization aligned with agency decision timelines.

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Moving wildfire risk planning forward

The new publication outlines several ways the Vibrant Planet Platform advances wildfire risk mitigation planning:

From disconnected tools to an integrated planning workflow

• Reduces friction created by fragmented software and data pipelines by providing a unified application that connects risk assessment outputs to mitigation prioritization and scenario planning.  

From static maps to transparent, scenario-based decisions

• Supports collaborative evaluation of wildfire mitigation alternatives, enabling cross-boundary partners to compare tradeoffs and align on priorities using a common planning environment.  

From expert-only modeling to broader decision access

• Designed to make complex wildfire planning approaches usable beyond specialized technical teams—supporting decision-makers, partners, and stakeholders who need clear, defensible results under tight timelines.  

From siloed local assessments to collaborative integrated landscape planning

• Modular design and integrated modeling allow structured decision-making to be applied across scales–from local Community WIldfire Protection Plans to the large, multi-jurisdiction landscapes–where agencies are increasingly expected to plan and implement work.

From outdated data sources to dynamic updates of forest structure and risk

• The landscape is changing fast and maps made one to two years ago no longer give an accurate picture of on-the-ground conditions. The platform integrates Vibrant Planet’s state-of-the-art forest and risk modeling to refresh information regularly.

From relative change in value to tangible outcome focused metrics

• The traditional risk assessment framework reports mitigation impacts as a relative change in value, disconnected from material results which are difficult for the public to internalize. VPP uses modeled and empirical approaches to report the effects of mitigation plans in real-world units for the public, elected leaders, and funders.

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Built on trusted, public wildfire science—designed for public decisionmaking

The authors emphasize that this informed and collaborative decision support builds on decades of wildfire science and tools developed by researchers, including foundational work by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The goal of the platform is not to replace local expertise or community governance—but to underpin such local knowledge with tools that help people work together faster, using shared information and clearer choices. 

Why this advancement matters now

Wildfire risk mitigation planning is increasingly time-sensitive, cross-boundary, and multi-objective, requiring planning systems that are faster, more transparent, and easier to update as conditions change. The study shows how the VPP can serve as an operational pathway to help agencies and partners keep pace with escalating wildfire risk while supporting defensible prioritization and implementation-ready planning.

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Publication details

Title: A collaborative, cloud-based decision support system for structured wildfire risk mitigation planning

Journal: Ecological Modelling 

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111464

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Media contact

Scott Conway | Chief Resilience Officer | Vibrant Planet |  scott@vibrantplanet.net