Wildfire Detection Sensors

The Oregon Hazards Lab is working with the Department of Homeland Security to pilot a cutting-edge wildfire detection technology. Our field technicians are installing wildfire smoke sensors throughout the Willamette Valley that detect wildfires through changes in air quality and particulate matter. The sensors were developed by Breeze Technologies and N5 Sensors through the Department of Homeland Security’s Smart Cities Internet of Things Innovation Labs.

Deploying these sensors in the Willamette Valley will enable them to be field-tested alongside other wildfire detection technologies. Their data will be monitored and analyzed by Breeze Technologies and N5 Sensors, who will compare them to alerts generated by our wildfire detection cameras. This research will further improve the sensors’ detection capabilities and optimize the locations of future deployments. Eventually, SCITI Labs hopes that real-time smoke sensors can be used to not only detect and track fires but to also enable the delivery of geographically targeted alerts.

This new partnership will advance our vision of developing the most advanced all-hazards, environmental, and ecosystem observing platform in the United States. The combination of multiple sensors, fire detection cameras, and artificial intelligence algorithms for fire detection will provide a cutting-edge wildfire management platform. Together, these technologies will provide increased situational awareness so firefighters can quickly discover and locate new ignitions, scale up resources where they are needed, and monitor fire behavior through their demise.