Business Case: Reducing Wildfire Risk Exposure with Smarter Vegetation Management

Written by Brian Mayfield, Pointerra US CEO

The risk of wildfire outbreaks remains a year-round threat for many utilities, especially rural electric cooperatives operating in fire-prone areas. Today, the threat extends beyond the fire itself. Insurance carriers are tightening terms, increasing premiums, or exiting high-risk markets altogether. As outlined in by NRECA in a RE Magazine article “The New Rules of Wildfire Insurance,” utilities are still facing a growing liability crisis—and many lack the tools, data, or resources to meet this challenge head-on.

Traditional vegetation management methods—manual inspections, boots-on-the-ground surveys, and sample-based data collection—are no longer sufficient as utilities are now required to document their wildfire mitigation plans, including how they are dealing with hazard trees. Utilities need faster, more scalable, and data-rich approaches to identify and mitigate wildfire risks before disaster strikes.

Solution: Pointerra3D Analytics for Vegetation Management

Pointerra3D is a cloud-based geospatial data platform purpose-built for utilities to operationalize geospatial data, including lidar and imagery. By leveraging high-resolution drone data and Pointerra3D’s analytics tools, utilities can shift from reactive to proactive wildfire mitigation. This predictive approach is explored further in Pointerra’s article “Using Predictive Analysis for Vegetation Risk Management During Fire Season,” which explains how lidar, satellite imagery, and digital twins help utilities identify vegetation risks before they escalate. Becoming operational is fast and easier than ever.

"Our Direct Strike Tree analytics solution helps utilities rapidly identify vegetation that poses an elevated fire risk—such as overhanging or leaning trees near conductors—enabling prioritized response and targeted trimming or removal. Best of all, it creates that lasting audit trail that is required to supply insurers and regulatory authorities,"

Brian Mayfield - Pointerra US CEO

Tackling Wildfire Risk with the Right Tools

A structured, data-driven workflow helps utilities move from broad risk awareness to targeted action. The following steps show how Pointerra3D supports the process from capture through analysis and operational response.

1. Data Acquisition

•    Utilities capture aerial imagery and lidar data using drones or helicopters—whether in-house or via a contractor.
•    Collected data is uploaded directly to Pointerra3D's cloud platform for immediate access and analysis.

2. Automated Analysis

•    Pointerra3D’s analytics engine runs advanced algorithms to identify vegetation in potential contact or near-contact with utility infrastructure.
•    Results include classification by risk level (e.g., strike potential, overhang proximity, height and many other critical variables) and geolocation for easy field planning.

3. Actionable Output

•    Output is visualized in an interactive 3D environment that field and office teams can access.
•    High-risk trees can be flagged, prioritized, and shared with vegetation contractors in a geospatial work package.
•    Data integrates with existing systems (GIS, EAM, WMS) or can be exported in common formats.

Business Impact Associated with Pointerra3D Wildfire Risk Analytics

Beyond identifying vegetation risk, Pointerra3D helps utilities translate geospatial insight into measurable business outcomes across safety, operations, compliance, and insurance readiness.

• Risk Reduction: Direct Strike Tree analytics help reduce liability exposure by identifying dangerous vegetation before it causes damage.
• Faster Response: Utilities can survey entire circuits in hours—not weeks—improving mitigation timelines and compliance.
• Insurance Leverage: Demonstrable wildfire mitigation through 3D analytics can support underwriting discussions or help justify lower premiums.
• Operational Efficiency: By targeting only high-risk vegetation, utilities reduce unnecessary trimming and maximize crew productivity.
• Regulatory Readiness: Many jurisdictions are tightening vegetation requirements. Pointerra3D enables documented, data-driven compliance.

Why Pointerra3D Appeals to Vegetation Management Teams

Our Utilities Vegetation Management (UVM) customers land on Pointerra3D as a solution to mitigate their wildfire exposure risk in a way that is not only frictionless to their existing systems and workflows but allows them to scale their efforts with less resources:

• Purpose-built for 3D geospatial data—no downsampling or pre-processing required
• Cloud-native—access, analyze, and share from anywhere
• Scales easily from a single drone capture to system-wide deployments
• Proven with investor-owned utilities, co-ops, municipal utilities, and transmission operators

The Time to Act is Yesterday

As wildfire risk intensifies and insurance options shrink, utilities must act decisively. Pointerra3D provides the platform and analytics needed to make informed, proactive decisions about vegetation management. By integrating drone data with powerful cloud tools, utilities can safeguard assets, reduce liability, and build operational resilience in the face of a volatile climate.

Get in touch with us today to see how Pointerra can support your wildfire mitigation strategy.