News from the Oregon Hazards Lab

Governor Kate Brown created a new committee this year to create a coordinated statewide approach to wildfire detection camera networks. This committee will ensure that camera systems operated by the Oregon Department of Forestry, utilities, and and the Oregon Hazards Lab at University of Oregon are integrated and interoperable.

A network of wildfire detection cameras is set to expand in Oregon after state lawmakers approved a boost in funding for the project in early March. There are hundreds of them in California, but only a couple of dozen so far in Oregon. Lawmakers approved $4.5 million to add more cameras.

After more than two years of planning, Southern Oregon’s first wildfire detection camera has been installed in Cave Junction. The camera will allow the public to watch its live feed to help monitor wildfire activity in the Illinois Valley.

New wildfire detection cameras from the University of Oregon’s Oregon Hazards Lab are helping firefighters and community members spot wildfires in real-time.

The ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System is coming to the Pacific Northwest. Alerts will be available to all cell phones in Oregon starting on March 11, 2021. Alerts can give people critical moments ranging from seconds to tens of seconds to prepare for shaking, depending on their distance from the earthquake’s epicenter.

The U.S. Geologic Survey announced $1.6 million in federal funding toward Oregon’s efforts to continue upgrading its portion of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System. With the funds, the Oregon Hazards Lab at the University of Oregon will finish installing new seismic monitoring stations on the Southern and Central Oregon coast.