From Ashes to Action: How a Santa Cruz Native is Fighting Wildfire with Tech
On a foggy morning in Santa Cruz, Jake Haselden stands in the remains of what was once his childhood backyard—now scorched earth, ashen trees whispering stories of the CZU Fires that swept through this community not long ago. It was here, amid evacuation orders and the smell of smoke, that Jake resolved—wildfire would no longer catch us unprepared.
Jake grew up here, in Santa Cruz. He knows that mountains—that trail up above Wilder Ranch—were once his playground. But when the CZU Complex Fires forced his family to evacuate and consumed the homes of friends and neighbors, something inside him shifted. “I realized there had to be a better way to detect and defend against wildfire, before it was too late.”
And that’s how AirMetrix.io began—his wildfire prevention and monitoring platform. It isn’t just technology; it’s a hometown response to a crisis. AirMetrix combines aerial imagery, ground-based IoT sensors, and real-time analytics. The platform uses LiDAR, thermal imaging, multispectral sensors, and AI analysis to help landowners and fire districts reduce fuel loads and insurance risk—before, during, and after vegetation removal.
And the maps and data dashboards that AirMetrix delivers offer integrated, actionable intelligence for counties, utilities, insurers—whoever needs to move fast when the fire season heats up, and who is required to document vegetation compliance tracking.
In the past year, AirMetrix has taken off. Multi-year contracts are now in place across the Bay Area. Projects span communities considered high-risk—where fire’s fury is part of the seasonal calendar. And each deployment brings what Jake calls “a measure of resilience back into the places I love.”
But here’s the catch: Jake has been doing this nights and weekends with his cofounder Jackson. They’ve bootstrapped the company from the ground up. And now, they are ready to go full-time—if the right partners come along.
He hopes to meet with fire districts, county officials, insurance carriers, and utility companies. And for those who share his mission, he’s offering a SAFE note—a chance to invest in a solution that could save homes, ecosystems, and lives.
Jake’s story is one part alarm, one part hope. It’s about a local kid, rooted in a place that takes the wild—and turns it into a warning. But more than that, it’s about turning that warning into a platform, a path forward—to act before it’s too late.
Santa Cruz Works has connected Jake with our partner companies and organizations including: Robots Cats, DART, and Parallel Flight. If you’d be open to a short conversation—or could connect him with the right people—he would be deeply grateful.
