Silver Lining Emerges in This Climate Sector During Trump's Tenure
This week, a trade group was established in the firetech industry to advocate for improved procurement policies and increased funding.
TroibNews 
SAN FRANCISCO — One segment of the climate community is maintaining a sense of calm in response to President-elect Donald Trump.
California’s tech leaders, who have grappled with one of the state’s most pressing issues — its catastrophic wildfires — see potential opportunities with a Trump 2.0 administration, even as their climate-focused allies appear to be struggling.
“Maybe there's a little less focus on climate, whatever, but I think that the value proposition for fire technology will remain as strong as ever,” said Matt Weiner, the CEO of nonprofit advocacy group Megafire Action. “It's not one of those areas where the partisanship is fully baked."
The burgeoning firetech industry has expanded rapidly over the past five years, catalyzed by the alarming orange smoke that enveloped San Francisco. Its offerings, including drones, artificial intelligence, and smart grid software, have attracted clients like Pacific Gas & Electric, which is eager to prevent any more devastating fires, and the state of Texas, exploring the possibility of a firefighting aircraft fleet following a year of record fires.
Entrepreneurs in this sector have garnered interest from both sides of the political aisle — Democrats eager to address climate change and Republicans looking to enhance private-sector responses while protecting rural communities from destruction.
In the last year, a group of mostly California-based CEOs has engaged in discussions with members of Congress, including Rep. Scott Peters and Sen. John Boozman, who will play a crucial role in forestry funding as the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee during upcoming Farm Bill negotiations. They have also interacted with staff for Speaker Mike Johnson, who is on the cusp of securing his speakership in the next Congress.
Weiner took a significant step by filing paperwork on Tuesday to establish a trade association for fire technology companies aimed at lobbying state and federal governments for increased funding and improved procurement practices. He introduced the Association for FireTech Innovation at the annual Red Sky Summit in San Francisco, which brought together start-up founders, firefighters, utility executives, and government officials.
However, not everyone at the summit was quick to embrace the opportunities presented by Trump’s ascent. Several entrepreneurs opted not to comment on the record, citing their political affiliations with liberal causes. Others expressed concerns that Trump’s threats to revoke federal aid for California’s wildfires, roll back Biden’s climate initiatives, and dismantle government structures could disrupt clients like the U.S. Forest Service.
Yet one entrepreneur recognized the need to adjust his messaging to appeal to Republicans. James Brooks, CEO of Fire Aside, which provides software to streamline wildfire preparedness inspections, mentioned that his interactions in D.C. influenced his strategy.
“The perception that we took away from a bunch of those meetings was that tax cuts will be a very important part of their agenda, so however we can position resilience-related work to be packaged into tax credits would be of interest,” he stated. Anticipating a possible Republican trifecta, he has begun integrating mentions of tax credits for home-hardening into his software.
His sales pitch focusing on efficiency is gaining traction across both red and blue districts, with Berkeley’s fire chief endorsing Fire Aside for significantly reducing the time spent on follow-up questions after inspections by 90 percent.
This message is likely to resonate with Trump, who recently appointed tech CEO Elon Musk to lead a new government efficiency review panel. Musk has direct ties to the firetech sector, as one of the founding members of the new trade group is Muon Tech, collaborating with Musk’s SpaceX to deploy a network of climate-monitoring satellites.
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Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
California’s tech leaders, who have grappled with one of the state’s most pressing issues — its catastrophic wildfires — see potential opportunities with a Trump 2.0 administration, even as their climate-focused allies appear to be struggling.
“Maybe there's a little less focus on climate, whatever, but I think that the value proposition for fire technology will remain as strong as ever,” said Matt Weiner, the CEO of nonprofit advocacy group Megafire Action. “It's not one of those areas where the partisanship is fully baked."
The burgeoning firetech industry has expanded rapidly over the past five years, catalyzed by the alarming orange smoke that enveloped San Francisco. Its offerings, including drones, artificial intelligence, and smart grid software, have attracted clients like Pacific Gas & Electric, which is eager to prevent any more devastating fires, and the state of Texas, exploring the possibility of a firefighting aircraft fleet following a year of record fires.
Entrepreneurs in this sector have garnered interest from both sides of the political aisle — Democrats eager to address climate change and Republicans looking to enhance private-sector responses while protecting rural communities from destruction.
In the last year, a group of mostly California-based CEOs has engaged in discussions with members of Congress, including Rep. Scott Peters and Sen. John Boozman, who will play a crucial role in forestry funding as the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee during upcoming Farm Bill negotiations. They have also interacted with staff for Speaker Mike Johnson, who is on the cusp of securing his speakership in the next Congress.
Weiner took a significant step by filing paperwork on Tuesday to establish a trade association for fire technology companies aimed at lobbying state and federal governments for increased funding and improved procurement practices. He introduced the Association for FireTech Innovation at the annual Red Sky Summit in San Francisco, which brought together start-up founders, firefighters, utility executives, and government officials.
However, not everyone at the summit was quick to embrace the opportunities presented by Trump’s ascent. Several entrepreneurs opted not to comment on the record, citing their political affiliations with liberal causes. Others expressed concerns that Trump’s threats to revoke federal aid for California’s wildfires, roll back Biden’s climate initiatives, and dismantle government structures could disrupt clients like the U.S. Forest Service.
Yet one entrepreneur recognized the need to adjust his messaging to appeal to Republicans. James Brooks, CEO of Fire Aside, which provides software to streamline wildfire preparedness inspections, mentioned that his interactions in D.C. influenced his strategy.
“The perception that we took away from a bunch of those meetings was that tax cuts will be a very important part of their agenda, so however we can position resilience-related work to be packaged into tax credits would be of interest,” he stated. Anticipating a possible Republican trifecta, he has begun integrating mentions of tax credits for home-hardening into his software.
His sales pitch focusing on efficiency is gaining traction across both red and blue districts, with Berkeley’s fire chief endorsing Fire Aside for significantly reducing the time spent on follow-up questions after inspections by 90 percent.
This message is likely to resonate with Trump, who recently appointed tech CEO Elon Musk to lead a new government efficiency review panel. Musk has direct ties to the firetech sector, as one of the founding members of the new trade group is Muon Tech, collaborating with Musk’s SpaceX to deploy a network of climate-monitoring satellites.
Like this content? Consider signing up for PMG’s California Climate newsletter.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
