Investigation of firebrand generation from an experimental fire: Development of a reliable data collection methodology

An experimental approach has been developed to quantify the characteristics and flux of firebrands during a management-scale wildfire in a pine-dominated ecosystem. By characterizing the local fire behavior and measuring the temporal and spatial variation in firebrand collection, the flux of firebra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire safety journal 2017-07, Vol.91, p.864-871
Main Authors: Thomas, Jan C., Mueller, Eric V., Santamaria, Simon, Gallagher, Michael, El Houssami, Mohamad, Filkov, Alexander, Clark, Kenneth, Skowronski, Nicholas, Hadden, Rory M., Mell, William, Simeoni, Albert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Data collection
Data processing
Ecosystem management
Embers
Experimental methods
Fire behavior
Firebrand shower
Fires
Fluctuations
Fluxes
Forest & brush fires
Forest fire
Mitigation
Particulates
Pine
Risk reduction
Spatial distribution
Wildfire
Wildfires
Wildland-urban interface
WUI
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Summary:An experimental approach has been developed to quantify the characteristics and flux of firebrands during a management-scale wildfire in a pine-dominated ecosystem. By characterizing the local fire behavior and measuring the temporal and spatial variation in firebrand collection, the flux of firebrands has been related to the fire behavior for the first time. This linkage is seen as the first step in risk mitigation at the wildland urban interface (WUI). Data analyses allowed the evaluation of firebrand flux with respect to observed fire intensities for this ecosystem. Typical firebrand fluxes of 0.82–1.36pcsm−2s−1 were observed for fire intensities ranging between 7.35±3.48MWm−1 to 12.59±5.87MWm−1. The experimental approach is shown to provide consistent experimental data, with small variations within the firebrand collection area. Particle size distributions show that small particles of area 0.75–5×10−5m2 are the most abundant (0.6–1pcsm−2s−1), with the total flux of particles >5×10−5m2 equal to 0.2–0.3 pcsm−2s−1. The experimental method and the data gathered show substantial promise for future investigation and quantification of firebrand generation and consequently a better description of the firebrand risk at the WUI.
ISSN:0379-7112
1873-7226
DOI:10.1016/j.firesaf.2017.04.002