Welcome to the Oregon Hazards Lab
Using Science, Technology, and Community Engagement to Understand, Detect, and Mitigate Multi-Hazards within the Pacific NorthwestWe Are Oregon, Rising
Learn how the mission and vision of OHAZ fit within Oregon Rising, the University of Oregon’s strategic framework to accelerate its impact on our state, our nation, and the world.
223+
PNSN Seismic Monitoring Stations Across Oregon
63+
OHAZ Wildfire Detection Cameras Across Oregon
4.2Mil
Oregonians With Access to ShakeAlert EEW Alerts
2018
Year OHAZ Was Founded
26
OHAZ Staff
7
Student Researchers
Support the Oregon Hazards Lab!
The Oregon State Legislature is considering a bill that would provide state funding to our program. This bill would help OHAZ continue monitoring natural disasters and delivering life-saving alerts to Oregonians.
The Oregon Hazards Lab is a program within the University of Oregon's Department of Earth Sciences. We currently partner in these efforts:
Mobile Deployment Units
The Oregon Hazards Lab is building out a stock of lightweight portable wildfire camera kits that public land management agencies can rapidly deploy to monitor new ignitions.
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Along with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington, we monitor ground motion to better understand earthquake and volcano hazards and their impacts on communities in Oregon and Washington.
ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning System
Since 2014, the Oregon Hazards Lab has been an instrumental partner in building and promoting the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake early warning system.
Wildfire Detection Cameras
With hundreds of mountaintop cameras installed throughout the western United States, this high-speed wildfire detection network provides firefighters and first responders a new way to spot and track wildfires.
Wildfire Smoke Sensors
As part of a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, we deployed 30 smoke sensors across Western Oregon in 2023 and tested their effectiveness at detecting emerging wildfires.
Sage Continuum
We are building a continent-spanning network of smart sensors to improve the flow of information between scientists and the natural world.
News from the Oregon Hazards Lab
We Are Oregon, Rising
Oregon faces complex challenges, from the risk of a megathrust earthquake to the growing impact of wildfires. OHAZ is implementing transformative solutions to these problems, driven by scientific research, technological innovation, and community engagement. We are co-evolving alongside the University of Oregon through Oregon Rising, the university’s strategic plan for the next decade. Oregon Rising will help to accelerate the university’s impact on our students, our state, our nation, and the world.
Oregon Hazards Lab Newsletter – June 2025
The latest edition of the quarterly Oregon Hazards Lab newsletter has arrived! We share more information about several exciting new projects, including deploying new wildfire cameras at the wildland-urban interface in Southwest Oregon and expanding our suite of rapid-response camera kits. We also update you on our plans for the upcoming field season and licensed alert deliver partners for the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System.
Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation: Research Transforms Us
For close to 150 years, the University of Oregon has powered American progress. Across Oregon, research strengthens the systems that keep communities safe and prepares us for natural disasters. Protecting education and investing in research is about protecting the future we all share. Today, that future is challenged due to recent and proposed cuts to federal research funding that could dramatically slow the pace of scientific progress.