Implications and Impacts of Mitigation Strategies for Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Smoke Exposure in Residential Environments

Published

August 19, 2026

Author(s)

Nathan Lima, Aika Davis, Michael Link, Thomas Cleary, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Rileigh Robertson, Steven Emmerich, Benjamin Werden, Peter DeCarlo, Dustin Poppendieck

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of various indoor air quality pollutant mitigation strategies during Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fire smoke events. We simulated WUI fire smoke conditions in the field by burning mixed-fuel cribs designed as surrogates outside a test house and measured particle concentrations using multiple instruments inside the house. Increasing the number of deployed portable air cleaners provided a non-linear benefit in particle removal effectiveness, with per-unit effectiveness increasing significantly when multiple units were operated simultaneously. Filters exposed to a single heavy smoke (Cpeak of 210 µg/m3 to 1300 µg/m3) loading showed no significant degradation in particle removal performance compared to new filters. The effectiveness of creating a "cleaner air space" within the test house was also evaluated, demonstrating substantial reductions in peak particle concentrations. Our findings emphasize the importance of accounting for air movement and mixing throughout a home when sizing and positioning air cleaners to ensure optimal performance. If internal doors are open and a central heating and cooling system is operating, air cleaners must be sized to the entire house volume, rather than just the room in which they are located. In contrast, if internal doors are closed and heating and cooling vents are sealed, a single properly sized air cleaner can provide a "cleaner air space" during WUI fire events.

Citation

ACS Environmental Science & Technology Air (ACS ES&TA) - duplicative

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.6c00137

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Keywords

indoor air quality (IAQ), portable air cleaners (PAC), clean air delivery rate (CADR), particle decay rate, cleaner air space, MERV filtration, air mixing

Citation

Lima, N. , Davis, A. , Link, M. , Cleary, T. , Falkenstein-Smith, R. , Robertson, R. , Emmerich, S. , Werden, B. , DeCarlo, P. and Poppendieck, D. (2026), Implications and Impacts of Mitigation Strategies for Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Smoke Exposure in Residential Environments, ACS Environmental Science & Technology Air (ACS ES&TA) - duplicative, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.6c00137, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=961721 (Accessed September 6, 2026)

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