My name is Neil Bansal. I am a high school senior from Sonoma County, and my connection to wildfire began long before this website did.
In 2017, my family lost our home in the Tubbs Fire. I remember leaving without knowing what would happen next. By the following morning, the place we expected to return to was gone.
Rebuilding took time, but the uncertainty of that night stayed with me. During fire season, smoke in the air or ash on the ground could bring back the same questions: Where would we go? What would we need? How long could we remain away from home? How much would it cost?
Years later, I began looking at the resources available to families preparing for wildfire. I found excellent tools for tracking fires, understanding evacuation zones, and protecting homes. What was harder to find was a simple way to prepare for the financial decisions that often accompany an evacuation.
I created EmberReady to help fill that gap.
The platform translates complicated planning questions into practical estimates, personalized checklists, and clear next steps. It cannot predict a fire or remove the uncertainty surrounding one. My hope is simply that it can make preparedness feel more manageable and help another family face an emergency with greater clarity than mine had in 2017.
EmberReady grew from a personal experience, but it was built for communities across California. Losing a home taught me how quickly certainty can disappear. Building this platform is one way I can use that experience to ease the burden on others.
