FireLens
FireLens is a citizen-facing California wildfire decision tool that turns typically opaque, expert or industry-only fire data into a plain-language risk read for any ZIP code.
Core trick
An agent answers ZIP-level fire questions by calling data tools over open fire-weather and fuel datasets, and refuses when the data cannot support an answer.
Description
FireLens is a citizen-facing California wildfire decision tool that turns typically opaque, expert or industry-only fire data into a plain-language risk read for any ZIP code. It separates two drivers of risk: the weather attributed risk of fire, and built exposure for the implications of a fire. Californians see not just whether they're at risk, but why, and the next steps to take. Every figure traces to an authoritative public source: the Fire Weather Index (ECMWF/Copernicus, from ERA5), FEMA's National Risk Index, and US Forest Service LANDFIRE fuel models, grounded in 85 years of fire-weather record. An Opus-powered agent answers free-form questions by investigating with real data tools, and will refuse to fabricate when the data can't answer. It's a decision tool: legible, sourced, and honest by construction.
README excerpt
# FireLens 🔥🗺️ **The open record beneath the fire-risk scores.** FireLens is a Claude-powered analyst that investigates any California ZIP code and produces an evidence-cited Fire Weather Report: how the fire-weather environment has actually changed across 85 years of atmospheric history, which documented fires occurred nearby and the conditions on their ignition days, and how today ranks against the full record — every number retrieved from an auditable open dataset, with an interactive map for exploration. > 🚧 **Status: data layer complete; platform builds at the event.** The > open-data pipeline and the <100 MB serving layer are built and > validated (this repo). The app — API, agent, report, map — is built > during Claude Fable Build Day, San Francisco, **June 13, 2026**. This > README is the front door; **`docs/STATE.md` is the resume-point** for > anyone (human or agent) picking the work up. ## Why California's July 2025 disclosure expansion and the January 2025 Los Angeles fires made fire risk a first-class question in every transaction — and every accessible answer is a sealed score. Fire Factor is the credit score; **FireLens is the credit report**: trajectory, not forecast; open data, not a black box; free, for the people the enterprise tools skip. ## What it answers - How fast Red Flag-condition days, atmospheric dryness, and the fire-weather season have grown at your ZIP since the 1980s — from a 1940–present record. - Which documented fires happened nearby