The Nevada Seismological Laboratory (NSL) monitors natural hazards in real-time, allowing swift response to both wildfires and earthquakes.
When the Davis Fire broke out in early September 2024 – burning 11 homes and threatening thousands more — the NSL field operations team was ready. Field Operations Manager Will Honjas ’16 (geophysics) and Field Operations Coordinator Brandon Bell, mobilized immediately to develop a plan. Student employees Ian Scoggin, a senior in mechanical engineering, and Austin Armstrong, a senior in geology, assisted the field operations team in readying and deploying a mobile fire camera to help monitor the blaze.
Mobilizing for wildfire response
“Most people might not think about a seismological laboratory as a resource for wildfire information,” NSL Director Christie Rowe said. “But we have built capacity to respond quickly to both wildfires and earthquakes.”
The mobile camera — a trailer-mounted system with a solar panel, communications dish and telescoping mast — needed last-minute adjustments before deployment. The team designed and fabricated custom mounts, and the students worked overtime assisting with the preparation of the mobile camera. By the end of the first day, the camera was transmitting real-time footage of the fire to the University, which was then shared on the ALERTWildfire website and Watch Duty app, where evacuees and officials could monitor the fire’s progress.
Three months later, on Dec. 9, 2024, the NSL field operations team sprang into action again when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck outside Yerington, Nevada. Though it caused no injuries or significant damage, it triggered hundreds of aftershocks (which continued for months afterward). While Yerington has a permanent seismic station, the NSL team deployed temporary seismic stations to provide more precise aftershock tracking closer to the epicenter.
Responding to earthquakes: preparedness in action
Once the team had the stations ready to be transported to the region near the epicenter, the field team and other members of the NSL loaded the equipment into several trucks and split into two groups to find optimal sites — on public land with cell service and packed dirt ground. Battling temperatures as low as 6 degrees Fahrenheit, they dug holes and installed the stations over three grueling hours.
“The cold kind of slowed us down,” Scoggin recalled. Both students found the work rewarding despite the freezing temperatures and late nights.
“I love the field work,” Armstrong said. “A really cool part of my major is being able to get outside and see where the data is being collected and how it’s being collected.”
Both students hope to continue working with NSL or similar seismological networks after they graduate in May 2025.
*Photo courtesy of the College of Science