Real Time Wildfore Modeling and Simulation
Here is a comprehensive breakdown of all the key points of your project, formatted so you can easily copy and adapt them for your GitHub description, hackathon submission, project portfolio, or presentation slide.
1. One-Line Elevator Pitch (The Hook)
“An enterprise-grade Geospatial AI platform that predicts 24-hour wildfire risk, simulates 12-hour flame front spread via Cellular Automata, generates AI-driven Incident Commander tactical briefings via DigitalOcean Gradient AI, and broadcasts instant evacuation alerts to residents on Telegram.”
2. The Problem It Solves
- Traditional Limitation: Most wildfire systems are reactive—they only detect fires after satellites spot the flames, when containment is already difficult and costly.
-
The Solution: This platform shifts wildfire defense from reactive detection to proactive intelligence by:
- Forecasting where fires will ignite 24 hours in advance using multimodal satellite and meteorological data.
- Simulating how flames will propagate over the next 12 hours through mountainous terrain.
- Automating tactical decision-making for incident commanders and instant alert dissemination for at-risk communities.
3. The 4 Core Technical Pillars
Pillar 1: 24-Hour Predictive Risk Engine (Machine Learning)
-
Model: Tuned XGBoost classification pipeline (
risk-xgboost-v002). - Spatial Resolution: High-resolution 500m × 500m grid (25 hectares per cell).
-
Multimodal Features Ingested:
- Satellite Indices: NDVI (vegetation greenness) and NDWI (canopy moisture deficit).
- Topography (SRTM DEM): Elevation, slope gradient, and solar radiation aspect.
- Meteorology: Surface temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, and Fire Weather Index (FWI).
- Vegetation Classification: Flammable Himalayan pine/conifer vs. broadleaf forest canopy.
Pillar 2: 12-Hour Physical Spread Simulator (Cellular Automata)
- Physics Equations: Implements Rothermel’s surface fire spread formula coupled with the Huygens principle of wave propagation.
- Dynamic Terrain Modeling: Simulates how steep uphill slopes tilt the flame convection column forward, pre-heating vegetation and multiplying forward rate of spread (ROS).
- Interactive Scrubber: Allows operators to step through the simulation hour-by-hour (0 to 12 hours) to inspect advancing burned perimeters and threatened villages.
Pillar 3: DigitalOcean Gradient AI & Copilot
- Feature Attribution: Explains why the machine learning model flagged a sector as high/extreme risk using actual mathematical feature weights.
- Map & Spread Q&A: An interactive geospatial copilot answering operator questions on wind vectors, ridgeline behavior, fuel transitions, and containment lines.
- Doctrinal RAG Retrieval: Integrates trusted disaster doctrines (NDMA National Guidelines, NWCG PMS 410-1 Standard Firefighting Orders & LCES, NFPA 1144 Defensible Space, Forest Survey of India).
- DO AI SITREP: Generates evidence-linked Incident Commander Situation Reports (SITREPs) linking raw satellite telemetry directly to field action directives.
Pillar 4: Real-Time Resident Civil Alert System (Telegram Gateway)
- Direct Citizen Warning: Integrates a live Telegram Bot gateway to dispatch official evacuation and shelter-in-place directives.
- Context-Aware Broadcasts: Alerts include threat level, fire danger index, civil action directives (MANDATORY EVACUATION / WARNING), and actionable safety instructions.
4. Technical Architecture & Tech Stack
| Layer | Technologies Used |
|---|---|
| Frontend & UI | React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Leaflet GIS (interactive mapping & hexagonal grid overlays), Vite |
| Backend & API | Python 3.11, FastAPI (async high-throughput REST API), Pydantic v2 (strict schema contracts) |
| Data & Spatial Storage | PostgreSQL 16 + PostGIS, SQLAlchemy 2.0 (GeoAlchemy2), Redis, Celery (asynchronous task execution) |
| Geospatial & ML | GeoPandas, Shapely, PyProj, PyOgrio, RasterIO, NumPy, SciPy, scikit-learn, XGBoost |
| Cloud & AI Services | DigitalOcean GenAI & Gradient AI (Serverless Llama 3.3 70B inference), Telegram Bot API |
| Testing & CI/CD | GitHub Actions CI Pipeline, 152 Backend Pytest tests, 47 Frontend Vitest tests |
5. Key Highlights / Impact Points (For Judges & Evaluators)
- End-to-End Pipeline: Covers the complete lifecycle: raw satellite data ingestion → ML risk prediction → physics-based spread simulation → AI tactical reasoning → public emergency alert delivery.
- Explainable AI (XAI): Not a black box—every high-risk prediction is mathematically decomposed into specific environmental drivers (e.g., negative NDWI moisture deficit + steep slopes).
- Robustness & Reliability: Built with strict fallback heuristics; if external cloud LLM connections go offline, local deterministic reasoning engines immediately take over with zero downtime.
- Production Quality: 100% test coverage across 152 backend and 47 frontend unit/integration test suites with active GitHub Actions CI.
6. Ready-to-Use Copy-Paste Descriptions
Short Version (GitHub “About” Box / Social - 40 Words):
“An enterprise-grade Geospatial AI platform predicting 24h forest fire risk with XGBoost, simulating 12h Cellular Automata spread, generating AI Incident Commander SITREPs via DigitalOcean Gradient AI, and broadcasting live Telegram evacuation alerts.”
Medium Version (Project Submission / Hackathon Portal - 150 Words):
“The Real-Time Predictive Forest Fire Risk & Spread Simulation Platform is an end-to-end disaster intelligence system designed to shift wildfire defense from reactive suppression to proactive mitigation.
Utilizing a 500m spatial grid, the platform runs an XGBoost model combining NASA FIRMS satellite detections, canopy moisture (NDVI/NDWI), and weather telemetry to forecast 24-hour fire risk. An 8-neighbor Cellular Automata engine models 12-hour flame propagation incorporating Rothermel’s slope-wind formulas.
Powered by DigitalOcean Gradient AI, the system features an intelligent Copilot that explains model feature attribution, answers terrain and spread questions, retrieves official NDMA/NWCG safety doctrine, and synthesizes tactical Situation Reports (SITREPs). To protect vulnerable communities, the platform features a one-click emergency gateway dispatching real-time evacuation directives directly to residents via Telegram.”
Built with
AI tools
Prize Categories Entered
- Submitted

Best Open-Source AI Project
- Event prizeSubmitted
Hack Of The Day