Heavy Fuels

Emissions (on which the modeled PFIRS and Smoke Spotter smoke plumes are based, and which are generated by the BlueSky Playground) are especially sensitive to changes in the coarse fraction of dead wood in the fuel bed, if those fractions are dry enough to be available. It is therefore important to map with project-scale detail where the heaviest fuels might be, so managers have a good estimate for operational smoke management and scenario planning at their project scale, and where perhaps the standard fuelbeds (and emissions estimates based on them) might be underestimating heat and smoke production that can drive unexpected fire behavior, plume loft, and/or smoke impacts.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated January 17, 2025, 06:42 (UTC)
Created January 17, 2025, 06:42 (UTC)
category /Air Quality/Particulate Matter
collection_name California Landscape Metrics
creation_method This data layer currently exists only for the Sierra Nevada region. Efforts are underway to explore development of F3 data for the rest of California. The F3 model generated several different raster surfaces of fuel loading estimates of the coarse woody debris by non-overlapping size classes; including 1, 10, 100, 1000-hour fuels (FLOAD_1-5). The model also produced estimates for coarse woody debris of heavy fuels by predefined non-overlapping size classes which are greater than the 1000-hour fuel size (>=12"; FLOAD_6-9). 2019 to 2021 Update: No adjustments were made for 2021 due to uncertainties in conversions based on the limits with which change detection information can quantify the individual components of this metric. For areas with disturbance 2019-2021 (defined as eDaRT MMI >= 10% canopy cover loss), fuel values are not represented for 2021 (i.e., NULL). For areas undisturbed 2019-2021, it is a reasonable assumption that heavy fuel values did not change significantly over the course of two years. This layer is derived from F3 layers (2021) using the following formula: _SUM(FLOAD_5-9)_
data_units Short tons biomass/acre
data_vintage 2021
encoding utf8
file_name HeavyFuels_SNV_202109_202209_T2_v5
format GeoTiff
harvest_object_id 76112786-e92e-4a76-b509-093f8ab1df34
harvest_source_id a2637971-af12-457f-ae4a-831d2202a539
harvest_source_title WIFIRE Commons
maximum_value 71.4
metric_definition_and_relevance Emissions (on which the modeled PFIRS and Smoke Spotter smoke plumes are based, and which are generated by the BlueSky Playground) are especially sensitive to changes in the coarse fraction of dead wood in the fuel bed, if those fractions are dry enough to be available. It is therefore important to map with project-scale detail where the heaviest fuels might be, so managers have a good estimate for operational smoke management and scenario planning at their project scale, and where perhaps the standard fuelbeds (and emissions estimates based on them) might be underestimating heat and smoke production that can drive unexpected fire behavior, plume loft, and/or smoke impacts.
minimum_value 0.0
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-122.28850044409212, 35.05759134158305], [-117.5560952343569, 35.05759134158305], [-117.5560952343569, 42.003494949314], [-122.28850044409212, 42.003494949314], [-122.28850044409212, 35.05759134158305]]]}
tier 2