It’s that time of year again to start thinking about burning your leftover piles from this year’s (or past) hazard fuel reduction projects.

Ever wonder how much biomass you are actually burning in those piles?  Need a better way to estimate smoke emissions and impacts to comply with the evermore strict air quality reguations?

This may be your answer: The online Biomass and Emissions Calculator for hand piled fuels, created by the USFS Fire and Environmental Research Application Team.  By entering the dimensions of your piles, this tool with calculate volume (cubic feet), pile biomass (tons), consumed fuels (tons), and emissions by pollutant (including PM, PM10, PM2.5, CO, CO2, CH4, NMHC).

How to get started:

1. Visit the the project page to get an overview of the project, find links to supporting documents, and (most importantly) access to the online Calculator along with a downloadable version for those without consistent internet access.
2. Read the quick and dirty help guide Procedures for Estimating Pile Volume, Biomass, and Emissions.
3. Start experimenting!  Quick link to the Online Calculator: http://depts.washington.edu/nwfire/piles/

More Information:

• Two page summary, Fire Science – First Look (July 15, 2011) by JFSP
• Six page research brief, Fire Science – Brief (January, 2010) by JFSP
• Full General Technical Report (PNW-GTR-805), Estimating volume, biomass, and potential emissions of hand-piled fuels.