SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 24 June 2025 — Today, Earth Fire Alliance, the global nonprofit coalition committed to delivering transformative data and insights from all wildfires on Earth, announced the first cohort of participants in its Early Adopter Program, representing eight leading fire agencies across three continents. The program is an opportunity for fire agencies and fire scientists around the world to help refine data products, define data delivery mechanisms, and harness the potential for FireSat—a first-of-its-kind satellite constellation purpose-built to address the global wildfire challenge.

The first cohort of Early Adopters are:  

• Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management (AGIF) – Portugal

• Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Service (ACT RFS) – Australian Capital Territory, Australia

• California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) – California, USA

• Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) – Colorado, USA

• New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) – New South Wales, Australia  

• Queensland Fire Department – Queensland, Australia  

• South Australia Country Fire Service (SA CFS) – South Australia, Australia

• Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (TPWS) – Tasmania, Australia  

FireSat was developed based on hundreds of interviews with firefighters and scientists to meet their expressed needs. The first FireSat, built by Alliance founding technical partner Muon Space, launched in March and serves as the on-orbit demonstration to validate the satellite’s advanced capabilities and explore its data applications. Earth Fire Alliance will work with Early Adopter agencies to understand their workflows and collaborate with them and Alliance technology partners to determine the most efficient, effective way to deliver FireSat data when the first three operational satellites launch in 2026.  

“‘Radical Collaboration’ is a founding pillar of the Alliance and we’re grateful for the continued support of an amazing group of wildfire agencies from around the world,” said Ann Kapusta, Earth Fire Alliance’s Early Adoption & Community Engagement Lead. “Working with the first of many Early Adopter cohorts, we’re excited to better understand immediate use cases and impacts, and to strengthen community feedback loops to continue improving the FireSat program.”

The Alliance will conduct hands-on data workshops with Early Adopters between now and the end of the year.

“As fire seasons get longer and extreme events become more common, it is vital we have access to accurate and timely detection capabilities so we can best protect our communities.” said Peter McKechnie AFSM, Deputy Commissioner Strategic Capability, for NSW RFS in Australia. “Through innovations such as FireSat we can ensure that our firefighters have the best chance to deal with fires while they are smaller. This will mean safer firefighters and safer communities.”  

The first cohort of Early Adopters has a focus on frontline wildfire and emergency response applications. The Alliance plans to soon expand the program to include organizations directly involved in wildfire science and fire ecology. This next cohort will help advance the application of FireSat data for fire behavior modeling and to improve understanding of wildfire impacts on climates, ecosystems, and communities.

Earth Fire Alliance is grateful to founding partners Google, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Muon Space, and others that have contributed scientific expertise, leadership, and philanthropic support to make FireSat and the Early Adopter program possible.

To learn more or to get involved, contact community@earthfirealliance.org