News from the Oregon Hazards Lab

ShakeAlert is the world’s first earthquake early warning system that incorporates geodetic data and algorithms. A new geodetic algorithm called GFAST that will improve ShakeAlert’s ability to quickly characterize the magnitude of the next Big One.

Damp weather in the winter and spring do not necessarily protect against wildfires later in the summer, according to University of Oregon researchers. Oregon Hazards Lab Director Doug Toomey shares how the lab’s wildfire detection camera network can help mitigate wildfire risk this fire season.

OHAZ Director Doug Toomey spoke with Oregon Public Broadcasting about the lab’s wildfire detection camera network. Wildland firefighters across the West now have access to a large network of cameras monitored by artificial intelligence to alert them to wildfires when they start.

The quarterly OHAZ newsletter provides updates about new wildfire camera deployments, the buildout of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, and improvements to the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System.

The University of Oregon’s Oregon Hazards Lab’s Western Wildfire Camera Network is the largest of its kind, and helps firefighters detect fires early. But they are about more than just getting a first look at blazes.

Wildland firefighters in the western United States will now have the world’s largest public-facing network of wildfire detection cameras at their disposal. The Oregon Hazards Lab has integrated its camera network with those operated by the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Nevada, Reno under a new platform called ALERTWest.