Wildfire detection company SenseNet, Canada’s largest wildfire detection operator, recently announced the acquisition of N5 Sensors‘ wildfire-related assets, a semiconductor producer in the United States, despite the company’s recent failure in a federal audit and the two nations being in the middle of a trade war.

N5 builds environmental and chemical sensor platforms for air quality analysis, hazardous chemical monitoring and early wildfire detection, according to the company’s website. SenseNet acquired the company’s fire-sensing technology just months after the sensors failed an audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

SenseNet CEO and Founder Hamed Noori told Wildfire Today that he and his company were aware of the failed audit before the acquisition, deciding that the audit’s report did not accurately reflect N5’s technology nor how it would operate under SenseNet. He added that he believes N5’s integration into SenseNet would only add to his company’s ability to monitor wildfires.

SenseNet also monitors more than 400 million acres of wildlands across 10 other countries. The company focuses on smoldering-phase gas sensors, long-range AI cameras, and satellite intelligence, among other technologies.

The acquisition also comes amid an escalating trade war between the U.S. and Canada, triggered after President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on numerous goods from Canada entering the U.S. on Aug. 19, and explicitly includes electronics and telecom equipment like those SenseNet and N5 rely on, along with vehicle parts, lumber, and agricultural goods. Canada exported more than $4 billion worth of electronics equipment to the U.S. in 2025 that would now be subject to the tariffs, largely made up of electrical boards and controllers.

Canada’s responded by instituting 25% tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods on August 22 then issued more retaliatory tariffs on September 8, including taxes ranging between 15 and 50% on a list of more than 700 U.S. goods, including semiconductor-related parts and other technology goods.

Noori told Wildfire Today he expects the ongoing trade war to minimally impact his business, if at all.

“For one, the sensors are relatively cheap and the majority of our value comes from our platform and AI that detects the wildfires,” Noori said. “Secondly, wildfire prevention is an issue that transcends politics as both countries collaborate deeply and share resources.”