Wildfire Detection Camera Network

Project ID: 24-PA-11062752-561

Federal Agency: U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station

Partner Institution: University of Oregon

Fiscal Year: 2024

Initial Funding: $14,939

Total Funding: $14,939

Principal Investigator: O'Driscoll, Leland

Agreement Technical Representative: Gear, Jacob

Abstract: 

Background: The Oregon Hazards Lab cooperatively operates a high-speed camera network that provides firefighters and first responders a new way to spot and track wildfires. The dozens of cameras in Oregon and thousands across the western United States can zoom, pan, rotate, and tilt, enabling fire managers to watch the landscape, fire behavior, and weather in near-real-time or later through time-lapse footage. The University of Oregon has partnered with the University of Nevada, Reno; the University of California, San Diego; and the technology platform ALERTWest to operate this network. As of late 2023, they have installed 45 cameras in Oregon and plan to have 75 installed statewide by late 2025. Currently, the main sponsors of this program are the Washington and Oregon Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the State of Oregon, the University, and additional utility, state, and county partners. Fire programs operate in a complete interagency environment, and the BLM has invested millions into cameras with the University across Oregon and is starting to build a network in Washington. As most dispatch centers serve multiple agencies, these camera feeds and fire alerts from the University are already in place in most centers. The U.S. Forest Service’s partnership with the University makes sense from both an interoperability standpoint and a financial one.