In 2024, nearly 1,700 wildfires burned a combined one million hectares of land in British Columbia. Roughly 160 evacuation orders or alerts affected over 15,000 properties province-wide. One-third of wildfires are caused by human activity, the Province estimates, with the rest being attributed to natural factors such as lightning. Whether man-made or nature-triggered, controlling and […]
Fireswarm
Squamish’s FireSwarm Advances in XPRIZE Wildfire with Drone Technology
Squamish’s FireSwarm has been selected by the XPRIZE Wildfire’s independent judging panel as one of the 29 Qualified Teams from around the world to advance to the next round of the XPRIZE Wildfire Autonomous Wildfire Response track. FireSwarm deploys autonomous drone swarms for rapid, precise wildfire suppression. FireSwarm’s mission is to integrate cutting-edge drone technology […]
Vancouver Startup Signalytic Wins Top Prize at This Year’s Okanagan Angel Summit Finale
After eight weeks of pitches, due diligence, and training, a winner of the Okanagan Angel Summit competition has been crowned. More than 200 community members recently gathered at the Kelowna Innovation Centre for the Summit Finale, which is about celebrating and strengthening connections across Western Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Nico Christofi, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based […]