Welcome to the Oregon Hazards Lab
Using Science, Technology, and Community Engagement to Understand, Detect, and Mitigate Multi-Hazards within the Pacific Northwest
223+
Seismic Monitoring Stations
63+
Wildfire Detection Cameras
$22M+
Funding Since 2020
2018
Year OHAZ Was Founded
28
OHAZ Staff
8
Student Researchers
The Oregon Hazards Lab is a research lab within the University of Oregon's Department of Earth Sciences. We currently partner in these efforts:
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.
Willamette Watershed Project
The Oregon Hazards Lab is developing resilient communications infrastructure for the Santiam, Sisters, and McKenzie River corridors that will support a natural disaster monitoring and alerting network.
News from the Oregon Hazards Lab
Western Wildfire Camera Network is Now the Largest of its Kind
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.
Bureau of Land Management – Lakeview District Expands Fire Detection Network
The Bureau of Land Management Lakeview District and its partners at the Oregon Hazards Lab at the University of Oregon have installed another new wildfire detection camera in Southeastern Oregon. The Green Mountain camera is part of a 1,000-plus-camera network hosted on the ALERTWest platform.
ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning and School Safety Workshop
The ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System can detect earthquakes so quickly that alerts can be delivered to schools before they feel shaking. ShakeAlert can be integrated into school paging systems to deliver life-saving alerts to students and teachers. Attend this free virtual workshop to learn how ShakeAlert can be used in your school.