No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

What Can We Do About Wildfires? With Convective Capital’s Bill Clerico

Jan 23, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Bill Clerico, founder of Convective Capital and former CEO of WePay, shares his expertise on wildfire mitigation and climate resilience. He delves into the reasons behind the worsening wildfires, emphasizing outdated building codes and underfunded utilities. Bill highlights cutting-edge firefighting technologies, such as drones and advanced detection systems. The conversation also uncovers necessary policy reforms and presents actionable steps homeowners, insurance companies, and governments can take to combat this growing threat.

37:59

Episode guests

Bill Clerico

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Effective forest management and regulatory reform are crucial for mitigating the increasing intensity of wildfires and protecting communities.

Innovative firefighting technologies, like drones for early detection, must overcome regulatory hurdles to enhance wildfire response strategies.

Deep dives

Understanding the Causes of Wildfires

Wildfires are not solely caused by climate change; other factors play a significant role as well. While climate change contributes to longer fire seasons and exacerbates conditions, causes such as forest management practices and the structure of electrical grids have led to the recent increase in wildfire intensity. The U.S. Forest Service's policy of maximum suppression since the 1930s has resulted in denser forests that are more susceptible to severe fires. Addressing these self-inflicted wounds through effective forest management and proactive policies is essential in combating the growing wildfire crisis.

Intro

2min

Managing Wildfire Risks

8min

Navigating Urban Fire Risks

8min

Understanding Wildfire Ignition: Causes and Preventative Measures

4min

Understanding California's Utility Rates and Insurance Landscape

4min

Mitigating Wildfire Risks: Strategies and Innovations

11min

This week on No Priors, Sarah and Elad sit down with Bill Clerico, founder of Convective Capital, an early stage venture fund focused on technology-driven solutions for wildfire mitigation and climate resilience. The wildfires in Los Angeles have caused unprecedented property damage and immense hardship for countless individuals and families. This episode is devoted to diving into understanding what happened and what we can do in the future. Bill shares his insights into the increasing severity of wildfires, the role of policy, and how infrastructure issues, like outdated building codes and underfunded utilities, are contributing to the crisis. They discuss the latest innovations in fire-fighting technology, from advanced detection to drones, and how these tools can help mitigate future damage.

Show Notes:

0:00 Introduction

1:02 Why are wildfires getting worse?

5:37 Policies and regulatory decisions

10:47 Housing: building codes and permitting

13:19 Key factors in response

16:20 Improving water supply and city infrastructure

19:10 Preventing wildfires

21:26 Underinvestment in California’s utilities

26:53 Innovative fire fighting technology

29:35 Accelerating Los Angeles’ recovery

34:29 Actions homeowners, insurance companies, and governments can take

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