XPRIZE Wildfire

Valley Christian’s Wildfire Quest Team was initiated in July 2022. The three-year international competition offered a total prize purse of $11M for the top teams. The team’s tight cohesion, fostered by three diverse sectors, drove student innovation, contributing to the development of their collaborative solution. Despite being the sole high school team among top industry and universities, the Wildfire Quest team exuded confidence in their solutions and capabilities.

Xprize Wilfdfire Overview
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The Global Issue

“Globally, Extreme Wildfire Events (EWEs) are becoming more frequent. EWEs burn bigger, at a higher intensity, and can quickly sprawl out of control. While they represent only around 3% of all wildfires, EWEs account for 80% of total associated fire damages and are increasingly contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions and worsening health impacts from pollutants.

These large and destructive wildfires wreak havoc on ecosystems worldwide, especially in the expanding Wildland-Urban Interface, where homes, businesses, and major infrastructure are most at risk, and where wildfire control and suppression activities are increasingly outperformed.”

Competition Status

From a highly competitive field of more than 300 teams, Team Wildfire Quest emerged as Top Five Finalists, earning $175,000 in awards for their outstanding innovation and performance.