AEM Blog

Why AEM Elements® 360 is the Best Wildfire Risk Management Software

Written by Liz Marks | Sep 19, 2025 1:00:00 PM

When AEM surveyed more than 170 public sector wildfire leaders in 2024, we uncovered that 42% of wildland fire teams didn’t have a software solution to help them manage the wildfire event cycle. Meanwhile, 21% of teams were piecing together three or more different applications to get the job done. AEM Elements 360® is here to close that gap.

AEM Elements 360 takes the foundation of FTS360, an industry favorite for fire weather and visual intelligence, and expands its capabilities to significantly improve land management and wildland fire teams’ entire approach to proactive risk management, ignition detection, and response coordination.

Moving forward, we’ll explore…

AEM Elements 360 creates a wildfire awareness hub

AEM Elements 360 was purpose built to provide a single tool that wildfire and emergency management professionals can rely on to keep them informed on their areas of greatest risk in the moment and what to expect in the near future. It unifies the diverse mission-critical data that leaders need to craft wildfire response strategies, plan fuel reduction programs, and execute meaningful public and private sector collaborations to improve community fire resilience.

The application centralizes…

  • Fire weather danger monitoring and Fire Weather Index (FWI) calculations
  • Dynamic wildfire fuel mapping for risk analysis and fire modeling
  • Real-time visual intelligence from automated 360° guard tours
  • Alerts for lightning strikes and potential smoke near high-risk locations to support ignition detection
  • Weather data from the field and forecasts that help make sense of fire behavior during a wildfire event

… so that wildfire leaders can lead data-driven wildfire preparedness, response, and recovery programs with confidence.


AEM Elements 360 doesn’t just get timely data into the right hands faster. It combines, cross-references, and presents intelligence from the field in ways that foster an always-on culture of wildfire resilience.

The application helps you understand where fire risk is developing in your area and provides a platform to strategize on what you can do to reduce it. It makes the fire science that experienced wildland fire professionals understand well highly visual in a way that streamlines communication and collaboration with other stakeholders and reduces time to action. It transforms wildfire risk from an abstract and scary concept into a clear narrative, allowing wildfire and emergency leaders to be more proactive, react more quickly when the time comes, and increase their confidence in every decision they make.

True 360° wildfire ignition detection

Wildfire ignitions happen fast, and it’s crucial that mitigation teams respond quickly. The challenge? Traditional tools often rely on just one or two indicators, like smoke reports or weather alerts, which can result in false alarms, delayed action, or missed threats entirely.

Multi-source ignition detection powered by AEM Elements 360 combines diverse detection signals into a single, streamlined, cross-referenceable view, giving wildfire teams a smarter, higher-confidence way of validating threats and prioritizing response.

Here’s what it brings together:

  • Weather data from RAWS networks: Real-time temperature, wind, humidity, and fuel moisture readings from trusted Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) form the environmental baseline for fire potential.
  • Lightning detection: Earth Networks’ Total Lightning Network® pinpoints recent strikes to locate potential ignitions in dry areas.
  • Air quality monitoring: Shifts in particulate levels or carbon monoxide can hint at smoke even before it’s visible.
  • PTZ camera visual intelligence: Pan-tilt-zoom systems, including SmartGT 360° patrols, provide real-time images to verify conditions on the ground.
  • Satellite hotspots: MODIS, VIIRS, and GOES imagery detect abnormal heat signatures from space.

By cross-referencing these sources, AEM Elements 360 dramatically reduces false alarms, confirms ignitions faster, and helps teams focus resources where they’re needed most. Instead of chasing shadows or hesitating on action, responders gain the clarity to move decisively.

The result? Better outcomes, faster decisions, and smarter wildfire response from the moment ignition is suspected

This level of wildfire data fusion takes you beyond traditional monitoring to enable intelligent cross-referencing:

  • Smoky image on camera + recent lightning strike + nearby hotspot = high-confidence fire detection
  • If only one source triggers, the system avoids false alarms by requesting supporting evidence before alerting (or escalating)

Need to take action on detections fast? AEM Elements 360 lets you customize alerting workflows based on any criteria you choose: a lightning strike near drought-stressed fuels, camera-based smoke confirmation, or even sudden changes in calculated fire danger index. Notifications can be sent directly through the app, via email, or SMS, ensuring key personnel are alerted in the moment, not after the fact.

Bringing wildfire partners together when it matters most

Wildfires call for multi-agency coordination across emergency managers, fire crews, land managers, dispatchers, and local leaders. AEM Elements 360 is designed to bring everyone onto the same page in a way that supports each stakeholder with the data they need and a shared view of the situation.

From real-time dashboards that visualize all current threats and weather overlays, to layered maps that include U.S. and Canadian fire weather models, fuel hazard layers, and even your own GIS inputs, the system makes it simple to communicate complex information quickly. The application includes tools, alerts, and data views, including:

Shared situational awareness dashboards

  • Map and weather overlays, fuel layers, satellites, cameras, and lightning all in one view
  • Standard wildfire situational maps included out of the box, plus support for custom GIS layers and Canadian hazard data integration

Collaboration tools

  • Alert acknowledgement and shared response status ensure everyone is aligned
  • Visuals and data are mobile and web‑ready for on‑site crews, dispatchers, or leadership

Public data sharing

  • Share live camera views or ignition event snapshots publicly via Overwatch for community transparency and partner coordination

Whether you’re working from a command center, a mobile incident response vehicle, or from the field on a tablet, AEM Elements 360 gives you a 360-degree wildfire picture you can trust and act on immediately.

Get a custom demo of the 360-degree difference

Wildfire risk management isn’t just about putting out fires when you get a call anymore. It’s about an always-on approach to risk awareness, ultra-proactive monitoring, and finding the best way to cut through the noise and deliver relevant information when action is needed.

AEM Elements 360 is here to help you do that.

If you’re ready to learn more about how our flagship application is helping teams around the U.S. and world increase wildfire resilience in their communities, it’s time to schedule a custom demo of AEM Elements 360.