Understanding and Characterizing Emission Factors from Burning Structures in California Due to Wildfires
Principal Investigator/Author(s): Allen Goldstein, Michael Gollner, Nathan Kreisberg
Contractor: University of California, Berkeley
Contract Number: 22RD004
Project Status: Active
Relevant CARB Programs: GHG Emission Inventory Program
Topic Areas: California GHG Inventory Data, Wildfires
Research Summary:
Over 25% of California’s population lives in high-fire-risk areas at the wildland-urban interface (WUI). It is critical to understand emissions from WUI fires, including emissions from burning structures that may contain toxic chemicals from burning metals, plastics, and other petroleum-based products. This project will determine emission factors and chemical speciation from burning structures typical of those located in California due to wildfires and help improve the characterization of WUI structure fire emissions that are needed in California’s Natural and Working Lands (NWL) model and First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM). This project will conduct additional experiments by burning specific building materials in the UCB Fire Research Lab and collecting similar emissions captured from these controlled environments. Emission profiles from two distinct types of structure fires in the field: full-scale Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and single-family homes, and a range of other materials will be compared. These two building types capture an important segment of structures in the California WUI. Thus, it will improve our understanding of fire behavior and its role in emissions for developing and testing effective strategies and policies for mitigating the impacts of wildfires in California.
Keywords: wildfires, fire risk, wildland urban interface, WUI, fire emissions, burning structures, accessory dwelling units, ADU, homes, burning, emission factors, California wildfires, California Natural and Working Lands, First Order Fire Effects Model, FOFEM
Project Update:
On July 10, 2024, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Research Center partnered with CalFire and UC Berkeley (UCB) to conduct the first full-scale ADU burn experiment in Richburg, South Carolina. Two ADUs were built to California's WUI building codes. One ADU was fully furnished and set on fire to test the impacts of heat and ember exposure on a second ADU downwind and spaced 30 feet away from the first ADU.
The UCB team measured emissions using drone sampling platforms, and IBHS conducted extensive measurements on the ground during this experiment. IBHS videotaped the first structure separation burn, which took about 4 hours. A shortened video with highlights created by IBHS can be viewed here.
Visit the burn experiment page for more details, screenshots, and photographs about this event.