ALERTCalifornia

Prepare · Respond · Recover

Developing Technology to Stay Ahead of Natural Disasters

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ALERTCalifornia

Prepare · Respond · Recover

Developing Technology to Stay Ahead of Wildfires

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Based at the University of California San Diego, ALERTCalifornia is a public safety program working to understand natural disasters and determine short and long-term impacts on people and the environment to inform management decisions.

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ALERTCalifornia is a UC San Diego Program

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Cameras and sensors are deployed throughout California to monitor wildfires and disasters in real-time. 

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TESTIMONIALS

“It used to take 20 to 30 minutes for our fire ground commanders to get to fires and make decisions, and now with the cameras we are reacting within seconds of the first report… It’s making a difference. I can’t even put into words how important those first few minutes are.”
TONY MECHAM
CAL FIRE San Diego County Unit Chief
“Over the past two years, the ALERTCalifornia cameras in our unit have significantly improved the situational awareness of our response personnel on wildland fire calls throughout the unit.”
RICHARD SAMPSON
CAL FIRE Division Chief – Unit Forester
San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit
"The cameras have been an invaluable resource for us, especially in areas where aviation weather reporting is unavailable, such as the rural regions we fly through. They have greatly aided us in making safe decisions regarding weather conditions, allowing us to transport our patients safely. Just this morning, in fact, we were able to utilize the cameras to show us a massive fog bank that is not showing up on the weather stations available to us."
MARQUIS LUTGE
FP-C Flight Paramedic, Base Safety Rep
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LIVE MAP

CAMERA FEEDS

ALERTCalifornia has more than 1,080 high-definition, pan-tilt-zoom cameras deployed across California (as of June 2024), providing a 24-hour backcountry network with near-infrared night vision to monitor disasters such as active wildfires. ALERTCalifornia cameras can perform 360-degree sweeps approximately every two minutes and can view as far as 60 miles on a clear day and 120 miles on a clear night. Explore our “camera quilt” to view live camera feeds and for more details on camera and network status.

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LOCATIONS

INSTALLATIONS

ALERTCalifornia has an extensive, ever-expanding camera network in California. Researchers at UC San Diego have taken the lead in creating the cyberinfrastructure to process, store, manage and visualize the massive amounts of incoming data from these camera installations. Our discoveries help mitigate the impact of wildfires on people and property, and bolster research into how to best prepare and respond to wildfire threats, both before, during and after serious burn events. 

ALERTCalifornia

TECHNOLOGY

As the ALERTCalifornia camera network and cyberinfrastructure grow in size and sophistication, UC San Diego researchers are using cutting-edge technology to gain insight into changing natural disaster patterns in the West. ALERTCalifornia provides state-of-the-art technology that supports data-driven decisions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters.

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PARTNERS

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PARTNERS

THE LATEST FROM ALERTCalifornia

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VIDEO

Multiple time-lapse videos captured on ALERTCalifornia's cameras of the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA. These clips show the fire behavior for approximately 24 hours starting at 6:20 a.m. on December 10, 2024. The time-lapses have been sped up. Watch UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia network's more than 1,130 (as of December 2024) live monitoring cameras at cameras.alertcalifornia.org ALERTCalifornia's camera sensors can see 60-70 miles on a clear day and more than 120 miles on a clear night. These cameras provide emergency managers with the information they need to respond to and monitor hazards like wildfires in real time. #calfire #ALERTCalifornia #wildfire #californiafire #losangeles #malibu #linefire #california #firefighter #FranklinFire ------- About ALERTCalifornia: ALERTCalifornia provides state-of-the-art technology that supports data-driven decisions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters. Based at the University of California San Diego, ALERTCalifornia is a public safety program working to understand wildfires and other natural hazards, and determine short and long-term impacts on people and the environment to inform management decisions. The state-focused program manages a growing network camera sensors, and collects data that provides actionable, real-time information to inform public safety. In addition to the camera network, and in response to increasingly frequent and severe climate-driven disasters, ALERTCalifornia is prioritizing novel data collection and research. These data are shared with fellow institutions and partners. Advanced technology offers fresh insight into the cascading disasters associated with wildfires, such as post-fire debris flows, floods, and erosion. These data will lead to a greater understanding of natural disasters and their long-term pacts on air, water, and soil quality as well as human health in California. Our multidisciplinary team is based at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, Qualcomm Institute, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. We also work closely with partners like CAL FIRE across the state. Learn more at https://alertcalifornia.org
Franklin Fire 24-Hours: Malibu, CA Dec. 2024
On November 11, 2024 a haboob, an intense dust storm carried by the wind of a weather front, moved through parts of California's Central Valley. It was captured on multiple ALERTCalifornia cameras. Watch UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia network's more than 1,130 (as of November 2024) monitoring cameras live at cameras.alertcalifornia.org ALERTCalifornia's camera sensors can see 60-70 miles on a clear day and more than 120 miles on a clear night. These cameras provide emergency managers with the information they need to respond to and monitor hazards like wildfires in real time. ------- About ALERTCalifornia: ALERTCalifornia provides state-of-the-art technology that supports data-driven decisions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters. Based at the University of California San Diego, ALERTCalifornia is a public safety program working to understand wildfires and other natural hazards, and determine short and long-term impacts on people and the environment to inform management decisions. The state-focused program manages a growing network camera sensors, and collects data that provides actionable, real-time information to inform public safety. In addition to the camera network, and in response to increasingly frequent and severe climate-driven disasters, ALERTCalifornia is prioritizing novel data collection and research. These data are shared with fellow institutions and partners. Advanced technology offers fresh insight into the cascading disasters associated with wildfires, such as post-fire debris flows, floods, and erosion. These data will lead to a greater understanding of natural disasters and their long-term pacts on air, water, and soil quality as well as human health in California. Our multidisciplinary team is based at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, Qualcomm Institute, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. We also work closely with partners like CAL FIRE across the state. Learn more at https://alertcalifornia.org
Haboob in Central California: November 2024
The northern lights (aurora borealis) captured by ALERTCalifornia cameras in Lassen and Modoc counties in Northern California on October 10 and 11, 2024. Watch UC San Diego's ALERTCalifornia network's more than 1,100 (as of September 2024) monitoring cameras live at cameras.alertcalifornia.org ALERTCalifornia's camera sensors can see 60-70 miles on a clear day and more than 120 miles on a clear night. These cameras provide emergency managers with the information they need to respond to and monitor hazards like wildfires in real time. ------- About ALERTCalifornia: ALERTCalifornia provides state-of-the-art technology that supports data-driven decisions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters. Based at the University of California San Diego, ALERTCalifornia is a public safety program working to understand wildfires and other natural hazards, and determine short and long-term impacts on people and the environment to inform management decisions. The state-focused program manages a growing network camera sensors, and collects data that provides actionable, real-time information to inform public safety. In addition to the camera network, and in response to increasingly frequent and severe climate-driven disasters, ALERTCalifornia is prioritizing novel data collection and research. These data are shared with fellow institutions and partners. Advanced technology offers fresh insight into the cascading disasters associated with wildfires, such as post-fire debris flows, floods, and erosion. These data will lead to a greater understanding of natural disasters and their long-term pacts on air, water, and soil quality as well as human health in California. Our multidisciplinary team is based at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, Qualcomm Institute, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. We also work closely with partners like CAL FIRE across the state. Learn more at https://alertcalifornia.org
Northern Lights in Northern California: October 2024
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UC San Diego public safety program leveraging novel technology & cutting-edge research to understand the causes, behavior & aftereffects of natural disasters.

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Neal Driscoll

Principal Investigator

Dr. Neal Driscoll is the principal investigator of the ALERTCalifornia program at the University of California San Diego, where he is a professor of geology and geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Driscoll’s background in natural hazard research traces back more than 35 years. He has published more than 120 manuscripts in high impact peer-reviewed journals, including Science, Nature Geoscience, Geology, and the Journal of Geophysical Research on subjects ranging from earthquake hazards to devastating wildfires., He has received multiple awards during his career, including the Heezen and Storke Awards for excellence in research and UC San Diego’s inaugural Undergraduate Teaching Award. Driscoll has also appeared in articles published by The Associated Press, The New York Times, CBS News, The Los Angeles Times, KGTV, KPBS and other notable news outlets.

Driscoll received his Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from Columbia University and worked as an associate research scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, MA before joining UC San Diego in 2000. His research interests at Scripps Oceanography include landscape and seascape evolution in response to tectonic deformation, sea-level fluctuations, climate, neotectonics, and geohazards.