ALERTWildfire
A 21st Century Firespotting SystemALERTWildfire is a high-speed camera system that provides firefighters and first responders a new way to spot and track wildfires. Its 700 cameras across the West Coast can zoom, rotate, and tilt, enabling fire managers to watch the landscape, fire behavior, and weather in real-time or later through time-lapse footage. It is a consortium of the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Oregon. The Oregon Hazards Lab is responsible for installing, maintaining, and monitoring the cameras located in the State of Oregon.
ALERTWildfire’s cameras and tools help firefighters and first responders:
-
- Discover, locate, and confirm fire ignition
- Quickly scale fire resources up or down appropriately
- Monitor fire behavior through containment
- During firestorms, help evacuations through enhanced situational awareness via a publicly accessible website
- Ensure contained fires are monitored appropriately through their demise.
ALERTWildfire in the Rogue Valley
OHAZ plans to install twelve new ALERTWildfire cameras in the Rogue Valley in 2023. These cameras will complement existing Oregon Department of Forestry cameras in the region. Together, they will provide a comprehensive viewshed of this high-risk corridor, including Medford, Grants Pass, Cave Junction, and Eagle Point.
We are partnering with Alchera to integrate artificial intelligence into these twelve cameras. Alchera will pull camera feeds from cloud servers and scan images for new ignitions using wildfire detection algorithms. If Alchera spots a fire, it will alert dispatch centers. Dispatchers will then confirm that a fire has been detected before alerting responding agencies. By utilizing artificial intelligence, ALERTWildfire cameras will provide rapid fire detection to the Rogue Valley.
Learning More About ALERTWildfire
Who can access ALERTWildfire?
ALERTWildfire is a high-bandwidth distributed IP-based system enables anyone with internet connectivity to access its cameras on any device 24/7. Anyone can view its public-facing video feeds for greater situational awareness. Firefighters, first responders, and incident command systems also have direct camera control through its secure web access. The interface has the same touch and feel in Nevada, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, easing use for stakeholders across the West Coast.
How does ALERTWildfire work?
ALERTWildfire’s HD pan-tilt-zoom cameras have near-infrared capabilities and up to 32x zoom. They have a range of up to 40 miles in the daytime and 60 to 80 miles at night. Time lapse imagery is available on demand. ALERTWildfire’s machine learning enables early fire detection, and it also interfaces with WIFIRE Firemap to help predict fire behavior.
How does ALERTWildfire support ShakeAlert?
ALERTWildfire’s wireless, IP-based high-speed backbone is easily expandable, delivering real-time, state-wide monitoring for a multi-hazard system. In Oregon, its hardened telemetry is also used to support data flows from seismic stations to the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system. This improves statewide resiliency for a variety of natural hazards.
Who are our partners in operating ALERTWildfire?
Along with the University of Oregon, ALERTWildfire is managed by the University of California – San Diego and the University of Nevada – Reno. 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:
-
- Bureau of Land Management
- Oregon Department of Transportation
- Eugene Water and Electric Board
- KATU2
- Elevate Technology Group
- Rogue Broadband
- Illinois Valley Data Center
- Rogue Valley Council of Governments
- Lane Council of Governments
- Lane County Sheriff’s Office
- Lane County Educational Service District
- Klamath Falls Community College
Visit the ALERTWildfire Partner page for a full list of our partners.