Wildfire Cameras

ALERTWest is a high-bandwidth distributed IP-based system that enables anyone with internet to access its cameras on any device 24/7. Anyone can view its public-facing video feeds for greater situational awareness. The interface has the same touch and feel in Nevada, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, easing use for stakeholders across the western United States.

Firefighters can also obtain secure web access for direct camera control. Over 200 Oregonians from more than 50 different agencies have log-in credentials. These users include the American Red Cross, the Bureau of Land Management, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon State Police, Oregon State Fire Marshall, local fire departments, local governments, and utilities. To request camera control log-in credentials, please email us at wildfirehelp@uoregon.edu.

The camera network is cooperatively managed by the University of Oregon; the University of Nevada, Reno; and the University of California, San Diego. We have contracted the private technology platform ALERTWest to host our cameras. We also collaborate with diverse federal, state, and county agencies; utilities; and local stakeholders in leveraging funding and installing cameras. Our Oregon sponsors and partners include the State of Oregon, the Bureau of Land Management, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Eugene Water and Electric Board, Rogue Valley Council of Governments, Lane Council of Governments, Lane County Educational Service District, Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Klamath Falls Community College, KATU2, Elevate Technology Group, Rogue Broadband, and Illinois Valley Data Center.

The Oregon Department of Forestry and Portland General Electric operate two similar and complementary wildfire camera networks in Oregon. However, our wildfire camera network is the only one with publicly accessible footage. As co-chairs of the Oregon Wildfire Detection Camera Interoperability Committee, we also work closely with the Oregon Department of Forestry and Portland General Electric to ensure our wildfire cameras are interoperable with other similar systems in the state and that we are successfully coordinating with our partners.

The Oregon Hazards Lab is increasingly co-locating wildfire detection cameras and Pacific Northwest Seismic Network seismic monitoring stations. The high-speed telemetry backbone needed to transmit images and videos in real-time can be leveraged to deliver real-time, state-wide monitoring for a multi-hazard system. Because wildfire cameras already require high bandwidth, this network is easily expandable to other low-bandwidth sensors like seismometers for the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System. Co-locating sites provides mutual benefits. Communities face a multitude of hazards, which cannot be addressed by a single-hazard detection system. Because monitoring networks are expensive and difficult to maintain, co-locating sites is both cost-effective and improves statewide resiliency for a variety of natural hazards. Seismic stations can take advantage of the cameras’ solar panels and high-bandwidth telemetry, whereas fire cameras benefit from seismic sites’ high standards for constant up-time, automatic failover, and redundancy. As of April 2023, there are seven sites which host both a wildfire camera and seismic site.