Firebrands, measured in three dimensions

A firebrand is a burning fragment of vegetation carried ahead of a fire. Where it lands decides whether a fire spreads by spotting, and that depends on its shape, its size and how dense it is. Fire models have long had to assume firebrands are discs, cylinders or spheres, because measured three-dimensional shapes did not exist. This dataset is that measurement.

The three fuel families

• Branchlet — fine twigs and foliage, burned whole and as separated twigs.
• Fibrous bark — the stringy bark of E. obliqua and E. radiata, across four hazard ratings.
• Candlebark — the ribbon bark of E. rubida, in flat and cylindrical forms.

Choose an experiment from the list to see its recordings and its firebrands.