ISO, aVerisk business and provider of advancedtools and analytics for the property & casualty insuranceindustry, and Intterra, a leading provider of software for firedepartments across the United States, announced they havepartnered with the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) toexplore new ways of analyzing and understanding wildfirerisk, bringing together experts in insurance, technology,and fire protection. Intterra has worked with the WFCA for severalyears to develop the Fire Data Lab, a nonprofit organizationdedicated to accelerating the use of data-driven decision making inthe fire service. The addition of ISO will bring robust insurancedata and risk analytics to the alliance to help generate newinsights, representatives said.

According to Verisk estimates, more than 4.5 million U.S.properties are at high to extreme wildfire risk with dry,mountainous, and fuel-rich environments providing the perfectenvironment for fast-moving flames, Dr. Arindam Samanta, directorof product management and innovation at Verisk said in astatement. Samanta added, "By working with the WFCA and Intterra,we're helping to address this growing challenge together and useour combined expertise to foster innovation in wildfire riskmanagement."