A Satelife score is a weighted blend of seven public-and-private data layers. This page lays out every input, every weight, the exact formula, and — just as important — what we deliberately don't claim.
Wildfire risk at a single property is the combination of three things: how likely fire is to happen there, how much of the property is in the way, and how well the structure and its surroundings can survive it. Every Satelife report is built on those three questions.
How likely a wildfire is to occur in the neighbourhood around the parcel — driven by official hazard maps, recent fire history, and local fire weather.
How directly the parcel is in the path of a fire if one starts — driven by fuel load and continuity, terrain shape, and prevailing wind patterns.
How well the structure and its immediate surroundings can survive a fire — driven by defensible space, building hardening, and brigade response time.
Every report combines a handful of independent inputs about the property and its surroundings. Each is assessed on its own, against public datasets and recent imagery, so two reports on the same parcel land in the same place.
When a property warrants it, the report includes additional layers that show the wider context — climate patterns, real brigade response time, and a physics-based view of how a plausible fire would behave on the ground. The cards below are taken straight from a real report.
Every report ends in one of four tiers, mirroring the same language official hazard maps already use. The tier is the thing you act on — the underlying number is just the explanation.
No obvious wildfire-driving features at the parcel. Standard maintenance and local code compliance is normally enough.
One or two contributing factors — some fuel load, mild slope, or aging history. Targeted mitigation is meaningful.
Several factors stack. Insurers and lenders are likely to ask for evidence of mitigation. A defensible-space plan is the priority.
Aligned with the highest official hazard band. Active mitigation, home hardening, and a documented evacuation plan are essential.
Fire physics is universal, but data availability and the language regulators use are not. Each region the service supports is calibrated to fit local data and local terminology, so the report reads the way a local insurer or fire authority expects.
California has a strong, regulator-trusted public hazard classification that insurers and lenders already use. Reports are tuned to anchor on that classification and produce a tier that slots straight into existing local vocabulary.
Portugal does not publish a jurisdiction-wide hazard map of the same kind, so the analysis leans more on vegetation and fire history. The output is framed as an operational exposure view, matching the terminology Portuguese fire authorities and civil protection already use.
Transparency about a model includes being clear about where it stops. The Satelife score is built to inform — not to replace professional judgment, ground inspection, or insurance underwriting.
The score reflects long-run statistical risk under the conditions we observe today. It cannot tell you whether a fire will start near your property next month, next year, or ever.
We are not an insurer and we do not underwrite policies. A low Satelife score does not guarantee that any carrier will offer cover, and a high score does not guarantee that they won't.
Imagery and public data have a resolution floor. A licensed fire-safety professional walking your parcel will always see things our model can't — concealed vents, deteriorated decking, recent vegetation regrowth.
Each report reflects the most recent data available at the time of computation. Conditions on the ground change with weather, season, and human activity; treat the score as a baseline, not a live signal.
Nothing in a Satelife report constitutes legal, financial, insurance, or engineering advice. See our Terms & Conditions for the full disclaimer.
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