To: Board of Directors
From: Lewis Broschard, Fire Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Xylo Risk wildfire mitigation prioritization analysis and risk modeling services agreement
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to execute a contract with Xylo Risk, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $15,000 for wildfire mitigation prioritization analysis and risk modeling services for pilot communities within the Fire District, for the period May 1, 2026 through May 1, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
100% CCCFPD General Operating Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District continues to expand its data-driven approach to wildfire risk assessment, vegetation management planning, and community risk reduction programs. To support these efforts, the District proposes entering into an agreement with Xylo Risk, Inc. to conduct a Mitigation Prioritization Analysis for selected communities within the District.
The initial pilot communities identified for analysis are Brentwood and Lafayette, each comprising approximately 1,500 residential structures located in areas that may be exposed to wildfire risk.
Under this agreement, Xylo Risk will provide wildfire risk modeling and analytics services that include:
Wildfire Vulnerability Assessment
• Advanced wildfire simulations modeling potential fire pathways under severe weather conditions
• Identification of wildfire entry points where fire spread may threaten communities
Residential Risk Prioritization
• Parcel-level structure risk assessments using wildfire modeling tools
• Identification of ignition probabilities and potential ignition sources
• Development of prioritized lists of structures or parcels for mitigation activities such as defensible space and home hardening, vegetation management prioritization
• Identification of strategic vegetation management areas and extended defensible space treatments to interrupt wildfire spread pathways, risk analytics platform
• A map-based software platform visualizing wildfire risk assessments and mitigation opportunities
• Return-on-investment modeling for home hardening and vegetation management programs
Deliverables will consist of GIS datasets, prioritized mitigation recommendations, and risk visualization tools to help the District target inspection programs, community outreach, vegetation management, and wildfire mitigation efforts.
The proposed agreement will serve as a one-year pilot project to assess the effectiveness of the platform and modeling tools in supporting the District’s wildfire mitigation planning efforts. Depending on the pilot results, the District might consider future expansions or other applications of technology.
Xylo Risk’s Master Services Agreement contains a limitation-of-liability clause that limits its liability to the fees paid in the six months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this action is not approved, the Fire District will not be able to implement the proposed wildfire mitigation prioritization pilot analysis, limiting the District’s ability to use advanced modeling and data analytics to strategically target vegetation management, home hardening, and defensible space programs within higher-risk communities.