Field Deployment
DRYLINE in the Tonto National Forest
Over 200 sensors across six sites are streaming live and dead fuel moisture and microclimate data in real time, helping protect the watershed and power infrastructure that serve the Phoenix metro area.
The First Utility Deployment of DRYLINE in the U.S.
In the summer of 2026, Growvera partnered with one of Arizona's largest water and power utilities and Northern Arizona University's School of Forestry to deploy DRYLINE across the Tonto National Forest, spanning sites from the Tonto Basin to Payson.
The deployment is funded through the utility's innovation and development program and monitors the forested watershed and transmission corridors that the Phoenix metro area depends on. Fuel conditions that crews previously hand-sampled every week or two are now measured continuously, around the clock.
What the Network Measures
Ground-truth data from the fuels themselves, streamed to dashboards in real time.
Sensors embedded in dead vegetation track how much moisture the fuels most likely to carry fire are holding, hour by hour.
Clip-on sensors measure moisture in living plants, a key driver of fire behavior that satellites and models routinely miss.
Temperature and relative humidity at each site capture the local conditions that regional weather stations cannot resolve.
Alongside the fuel network, NAU researchers are studying soil moisture as a complementary wildfire indicator, using sensors also built by Growvera.
From the Coverage
"We want to try to keep the power on. That's our job."
"This sensor technology allows us to put sensors throughout the forest without the people power."
In the News
The deployment has drawn coverage from utility trade press, public radio, and Arizona TV news.
- SRP, Northern Arizona University Installing New Fuel Moisture Sensor Technology to Monitor Wildfire Risk
American Public Power Association
- SRP and NAU Deploy Sensor Technology to Assess Wildfire Risk
KJZZ Phoenix (NPR)
- NAU Partners with SRP and Growvera on Wildfire Sensing Research
Northern Arizona University