NAIC partnership for Advanced Fire Detection in Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
PRESS RELEASE
June 19, 2024 Brookings, OR The Northwest American Indian Coalition (NAIC) is proud to announce its partnership with ALERTWest, Oregon Hazard Labs, and the US Forest Service Gold Beach Ranger District to introduce a state-of-the-art fire detection camera system.
This cutting-edge system, equipped with 24/7 monitoring capabilities, artificial intelligence, and near-infrared technology, will be installed at the T'uu-t'uu-ni tl'uu lhch'an-xul-'ii-dvn (Quail Prairie Lookout) site in July 2024.
NAIC’s current agreement with the US Forest Service (USFS) to develop a functional wildfire lookout tower has enabled collaboration with other organizations to introduce cutting-edge technologies. NAIC’s partnership with the USFS promotes community fire safety, provides various training opportunities, engages Native youth, collects critical weather and climate data, and implements collaborative interpretive displays. These efforts are designed to incorporate and apply traditional ecological knowledge in ancestral forests to protect natural resources and communities.
Native youth, Svg-vs, holds the new “Project in Progress” sign to be installed at the Quail Prairie Lookout Site.
The Oregon Hazards Lab has developed and operates a real-time camera network that provides fire managers with new tools to detect and track wildfires. Cameras are installed atop high peaks or high-rise buildings with sweeping views of the surrounding area. Each camera can zoom, rotate, and tilt, allowing users to monitor the landscape, smoke, fire behavior, and weather conditions in real-time or review them later through time-lapse footage. The Oregon Hazard Lab camera network is integrated with those operated by collaborators including the University of Nevada Reno and ALERTCalifornia at University of California San Diego, featuring dozens of cameras in Oregon and over a thousand across the Western states.
The Oregon Hazards Lab network at the University of Oregon has helped establish the largest public-facing camera system in the world, significantly enhancing wildfire monitoring and management capabilities.
The successful development of this project involved close cooperation with the Oregon Hazard Labs, under the leadership of Director Douglas Toomey, the Forest Service Gold Beach District Ranger Kailey Guerrant, and numerous technical advisors. This initiative is a vital component of our broader efforts to safeguard the health and safety of Curry County residents.
For a detailed overview of the AlertWest, and Oregon Hazard Labs project, please see the article Western Wildfire Camera Detection Network.
About Northwest American Indian Coalition (NAIC): https://nwaic.org/
The Northwest American Indian Coalition (NAIC) is a native-led non-profit organization headquartered in Curry County. Through various programs and initiatives, NAIC works to preserve cultural heritage, promote Indigenous stewardship, enhance community safety, and support the health of our ancestral forests. We are committed to empowering local Indigenous peoples by fostering resilience and sustainability in our natural and cultural resources.
About OHAZ https://ohaz.uoregon.edu and ALERTWest https://alertwest.live:
The Oregon Hazard Labs at UO in collaboration with UNR, UCSD and ALERTWest are providing fire cameras and tools to help firefighters and first responders
1. Discover, locate, and confirm fire ignition.
2. Quickly scale fire resources up or down.
3. Monitor fire behavior during containment.
4. Help evacuations through enhanced situational awareness.
5. Observe contained fires for flare-ups.
