Vail Turns to AI to Battle Wildfires and Modernize City Services

A mountain town in Colorado is turning to artificial intelligence to strengthen its defenses against increasingly frequent and intense wildfires. Vail, a popular ski resort town, has partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to deploy an AI-powered Smart City Solution aimed at improving wildfire detection and enhancing other municipal services. With climate change driving hotter, drier conditions across the western United States, wildfire risk has surged. In just the past five years, Colorado has experienced 11 of the 20 largest fires in its history. In response, Vail is adopting new technology to detect fires faster and respond more effectively. The initiative was spurred by a wildfire burning about 30 miles from town in July. Vail Town Manager Russell Forrest recognized the critical importance of rapid detection and response. “Fires are part of our life now in the mountains, and we have to be prepared,” he said. The new system leverages existing video feeds from cameras mounted on buses and high vantage points across the region. Previously, human operators reviewed footage to spot signs of fire, often struggling to distinguish between smoke and fog or to assess whether a lightning strike had sparked a blaze. The AI-enhanced platform now processes this video in real time, using advanced analytics to identify smoke and lightning strikes with greater accuracy. HPE’s Kamiwaza platform, the core of the system, uses AI to enhance image quality and apply real-time video analysis. It also incorporates contextual data such as weather conditions—like red flag warnings or recent snowfall—to assess the severity of a potential fire and guide response decisions. Geospatial insights from Blackshark.ai further enrich the system. By analyzing drone and satellite imagery, the platform evaluates vegetation health and dryness, identifies areas with high fire risk, and maps how close flammable brush is to homes—helping prioritize fuel reduction efforts. Vail is not alone in exploring AI for wildfire detection. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed the Next Generation Fire System (NGFS), which uses satellite data to detect heat anomalies and alert officials through a real-time dashboard. However, a growing concern is the environmental cost of AI infrastructure. The expansion of energy-intensive AI data centers has led to increased fossil fuel projects, which contribute to climate change and, in turn, worsen wildfire conditions. Vail addressed this issue by ensuring the AI system runs in a data center powered primarily by renewable energy. The facility is connected to Holy Cross Energy, a rural electric cooperative that sourced 76% of its electricity from renewables in 2024—well above the national average of about 20%. Beyond fire detection, the HPE platform will support broader city operations. Vail plans to use it to automate permit reviews, ensure website accessibility for people with disabilities, and streamline business licensing. A new AI-powered “digital concierge” at the public library will assist residents and visitors, helping manage the town’s heavy seasonal influx—up to 30,000 visitors per day during ski season—so staff can focus on urgent tasks.