
In a recent study, Barath Raghavan found that water-rich banana trees acting as natural fire breaks and could reduce fireline intensity by 96%.
In a state where wildfire season is never truly over, Barath Raghavan, an associate professor of computer science, is one of many researchers across the Viterbi School of Engineering working on innovating approaches to mitigate wildfire risk in Southern California and beyond.
Since 2017, Raghavan has been exploring the potential of banana trees as wildfire buffers. These water-rich trees act as natural fire breaks and could reduce fireline intensity by 96%, according to a 2023 study published in PNAS Nexus.
In this study, Raghavan and his team used simulations based on a major fire to evaluate mitigation strategies. They found that banana tree buffers planted 633 meters wide could significantly reduce fire intensity—achieving results comparable to mechanical thinning and prescribed burns.
Beyond their fire-resistant properties, banana trees, when irrigated with recycled water, could also produce profitable banana crops. Even if burned, banana trees will resprout, ensuring continued fire protection and utility.

Barath Raghavan. Photo/Noe Montes.
“Even though I’m a computer scientist, I have a lot of interest in California climate, weather and agroecology,” said Raghavan. “So, I come at it from an engineering perspective: What are the unique challenges that we face here?”
More recently, Raghavan in collaboration with USC electrical and computer engineering professor Peter Bereel and computer science PhD student Xiao Fu, developed FireLoc, an AI-powered crowdsourcing system that dramatically reduces wildfire mapping time.
Using low-cost, weatherproof mobile phones mounted on properties in high-risk areas, FireLoc can detect wildfires in minutes—often within seconds of ignition. The system relies on the phone’s basic cameras and sensors to identify smoke and flames, then sends the data to a cloud server that creates real-time, precise wildfire maps.
In simulations, the system accurately mapped wildfires to within 180 feet of their origin, detecting blazes up to 3,000 feet away. Costing less than $100 per unit, FireLoc could offer a scalable, community-driven solution for high fire risk areas–the PurpleAir for wildfires, said Raghavan.
Q&A with Barath Raghavan: Understanding Wildfire Risks and Solutions
What sets the recent LA wildfires apart from previous devastating fires like the one in Paradise, CA?
The fires in Los Angeles primarily occurred at the wildlife-urban interface (WUI), where there’s a relatively clear boundary between developed areas and wildland. This contrasts with Paradise, where the town itself was surrounded by forest. California’s population density at the WUI—particularly in hilly areas—creates unique challenges during katabatic wind events, like the Santa Ana winds, which puts constraints on power availability and drone use for monitoring fires.
“These win-win solutions demonstrate how technology and nature can work together to reduce risks.” Barath Raghavan
How does climate play into wildfire risk?
Climate is a critical factor, especially with the “hydro-climate whiplash effect” we’ve been experiencing—wet years fueling vegetation growth, followed by dry years that increase fire risk. The swings between these extremes are intensifying, and geographic features like hills exacerbate the issue. Hills get more rainfall due to orographic lift, which leads to more vegetation growth, which is fuel for wildfires. Hills are also places that face higher winds and high temperature inversions, further increasing the fire danger in hilly regions.
What are some of the biggest wildfire risks today?
I always go back Kentaro Toyama’s quote: “technology is an amplifier of human intent and capacity.” The risks at the WUI stem from millions of human-derived ignition sources. Unintentionally, our technology and infrastructure amplify fire risks. Climate change exacerbates this by creating more extreme weather, longer dry spells, and greater variability between wet and dry years. That’s where our research comes in: how we might lower that risk for more sustainable and harmonious living?
How does your research address wildfire risks?
Our work focuses on prevention and detection. On the prevention side, banana trees offer a low-flammability, fire-resistant crop that can double as a source of income when irrigated with recycled water. For detection, FireLoc uses low-cost devices to localize wildfires early, preventing them from growing out of control. These win-win solutions demonstrate how technology and nature can work together to reduce risks.
Are there any plans to expand this research to other areas or to test the banana tree buffer in real-world wildfire scenarios?
Absolutely. We are hoping to work with a community at the wildland-urban interface with recycled water infrastructure, as many new developments have, to plant bananas and establish it as both a fire break and a working farm. In addition, we are planning to make our FireLoc fire detection system easier to use and set up so that at-risk communities can set it up and use it themselves.
What are the biggest obstacles to making these AI-powered wildfire detection systems scalable and affordable for widespread use?
It’s largely about ease of use. Just like PurpleAir became an essential site for air quality monitoring thanks to the thousands of backyard monitoring stations that are easily set up by local residents, we’d like for FireLoc to be just as easy to set up and use.
In addition to banana trees, are there other plants or natural solutions that you’re currently researching as potential fire buffers?
In our research we found that other high water content crop species, such as ginger and turmeric, can work with bananas in a multi-crop polyculture. The ideal approach is to start with bananas and then make the system more sophisticated after the bananas are established.
What resources would you recommend for those interested in learning more?
Weather West, which Daniel Swain has been writing for years. I highly recommend reading the back catalogue to learn more about this context of California, climate, weather, fire, infrastructure. I don’t think there is anybody better.
Published on January 30th, 2025
Last updated on January 31st, 2025