Beyond boundaries: Unifying classification and segmentation in wildfire detection systems

Abstract Forest fires, a dangerous natural phenomenon, cause large-scale destruction in forests and nearby communities. In this paper, we leverage the capabilities of classification and fast prediction of machine learning and deep learning to detect forest fires by proposing a dual-stage approach of identification and segmentation of burnt/burning regions. The initial identification step uses simple classification by harnessing custom convolutional neural network and AlexNet to detect satellite images displaying signs of burning, followed by the next step of segmentation, which employs UNet and SegNet architectures to precisely localize the burnt/burning areas. We chose UNet considering its ability of efficient feature preservation, and SegNet prominent use for precise boundary delineation. For training our models, we have curated a dataset using Google Earth Engine, querying latitude, longitude, and dates. Image processing techniques facilitated the extraction of segmentation masks, bounding box images, and segmented images. The post-training results portray that CNN outperforms AlexNet with an 88.19% accuracy for classification, while in segmentation, UNet excelled over SegNet with a dice score of 0.6869. If deployed, this study stands to benefit forest officials, local communities, and biodiversity. Moreover, it aids afforestation teams in identifying burnt zones for targeted reforestation efforts, ensuring a more effective response to forest fires.