Data for firebrands generated from selected vegetative fuels: Joint Fire Science Program project (15-1-04-4)

This data publication reports the experimental data of firebrands (or embers) generated from five vegetative fuels under gusty winds in a full-scale wind tunnel facility. Criteria for the selection of wildland vegetative fuels were: (1) They should be representative of typical wildland vegetative fuels in the U.S. that are prone to ignition and firebrand generation; (2) They should be accessible to experimental teams in North Carolina and South Carolina at reasonable costs. The following wildland vegetative fuels were used in this study: chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) and saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) as shrubs, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and Leyland cypress (Cupressus x leylandii) as trees, and little bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium) for grass samples. Live saw palmetto samples were collected from the Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area in Bluffton, SC. Loblolly pine and Leyland cypress trees were harvested on private property in Richburg, SC. Chamise samples were collected from the North Mountain Experimental Area near Riverside, CA, and shipped to the testing facility in Richburg, SC. Shipped chamise samples were reconstructed by inserting the shipped parts into wire cages. Little bluestem grass samples were collected from Texas and shipped to the testing site. Experiments and data collection took place from October 2016 through December 2017 for the Joint Fire Science Program Project: 15-1-04-4. Data provided in this package present physical properties including mass, projected area, and flying distance reported for 9,249 firebrands generated from the five wildland vegetative fuels.
The population of these data is larger than any available firebrand dataset for vegetative fuels to date. Whole-plant experiments, random, non-consecutive sampling method, and realistic test conditions (e.g., fluctuating wind speed) provided an opportunity to characterize firebrands produced under more realistic conditions. This firebrand data set is useful in understanding the characteristics and distribution of firebrands generated from different vegetative fuels. They can be used for developing and training predictive models for the firebrand phenomenon, models to predict fire spread in the wildland and wildland-urban interface, and models to assess risks from wildfire. They are also useful to develop wildfire mitigation strategies or guidelines to minimize the threat and damage from firebrand attacks.
Original metadata was published on 05/13/2020. On 09/01/2021 the data embargo was lifted and the data for this publication became available.