Discovery

Background

In response to the growing threat of wildfires in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain), the island’s Environment Department launched a digital initiative to increase citizen awareness and improve emergency preparedness. Part of the 2025 Wildfire Awareness Campaign led by the La Palma Council, the project was awarded to Xestac Solutions S.L. and focused on developing two key tools:

• A mobile app to help rural homeowners assess and reduce wildfire risk
• A web platform to help firefighters access and manage submitted data

My role as the UX/UI Designer of the project included doing UX research, user flow definition, interface design in Figma, and usability consultancy throughout development.

Challenge

Wildfires are an escalating threat to rural homes, yet local emergency teams often lack up-to-date location-specific risk data. This results in valuable time lost during emergencies as responders must first identify and prioritize vulnerable properties.

The core challenge was to create a tool that empowers homeowners to assess and mitigate their own risk while simultaneously equipping firefighters with actionable and trustworthy information.

Objectives

The solution needed to serve two distinct user groups:

• Homeowners needed a guided and user-friendly tool to evaluate their wildfire risk, receive prevention advices and optionally share their risk level with local authorities.
• Firefighters required a centralized and intuitive interface to access the submitted information, identify high-risk homes, and make fast and informed decisions during emergencies.

Definition

We began with a stakeholder meeting to define requirements, prioritize features and define the navigation logic. The process was organized into four key phases:

1. Defining core features
2. Designing the visual system
3. Prototyping in Figma
4. Supporting the development team

A shared cloud folder and weekly meetings ensured transparency and alignment across the team.

User flow and Wireframes

During the early UX phase, I mapped the app’s user journey starting with onboarding and progressing into a three-part questionnaire (Surroundings, House, Services). The app would calculate a wildfire risk level (1–5) using a color-coded scale and offer suggestions for mitigation. Users could indicate which measures they planned to implement, and optionally share their results with the fire department by providing contact info, geolocation, or manual address input. They would also encouraged to upload photos facing the four cardinal directions to provide visual context for firefighters.

Component Library & Design System

To ensure visual consistency, scalability and efficient collaboration with developers, I created a modular design system inspired by Angular Material. The component library was built directly in Figma and includes reusable UI elements-

This system allowed for fast prototyping, intuitive user flows, and easier handoff to developers.

Prototypes

Mobile app

Using the validated wireframes and established design system, I created a high-fidelity prototype in Figma. This interactive version brought together all visual elements, components, and user flows, demonstrating how citizens assess wildfire risk and how firefighters access submitted data. It served as a key reference for developers and a tool for usability validation before implementation.

Web dashboard

Parallel to the app, I designed a web interface that aggregated incoming data for the fire department. This map-based dashboard displays every registered home on the island, color-coded by risk level for quick identification. 

Clicking on a property opened a summary pop-up with an overview of the submitted information: owner details, risk score, contact details and home ID. A sidebar offered deeper insights, with the pictures taken of the home, if any and the answers to the questionnare.

Testing & Follow-Up

After the design was implemented by the development team, I conducted a detailed usability review to ensure the app functioned as intended and matched the design system. Some small adjustments were made for consistency and usability. My next recommendation was to conduct testing with end users to identify friction points, gather feedback and prepare for future iterations of the tool.

Reflection

This project successfully bridged a gap between citizen awareness and institutional preparedness. By allowing rural homeowners to assess and reduce their wildfire risk, and by giving firefighters instant access to relevant, organized information, we created a system that not only saves time but could save lives. 

The integration of visual clarity, thoughtful UX, and responsive support made this a meaningful and impactful design challenge, one that demonstrates the power of digital tools in public safety.

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