Wildfire Smoke Soot Damage
Smoke damage contains a particle signature of the source. House fires, forest fires, brush fires, fireplace smoke, industrial fires, cigarettes, trucks, kitchen fires, etc. all leave a characteristic signature.
Pyrolyzed Calcium Oxalate Phytoliths
Some of the particles that mark these sources are shown here.
This is a tape lift from a home impacted by a near approach of a large forest fire. The bright rectangular particles in this field of view are from the pyrolysis of calcium oxalate phytoliths.
Charred Wood from a House Fire
This is a piece of charred Douglas fir (upper) and a hardwood from the structural wood used in this home. This particle was collected on a tape-lift taken on the second floor of a home that had a fire in the basement. This was carried upstairs by the chimney effect through the stairwells.
Wildfire Charred Wood
This is from a home impacted by a near approach of a large forest fire. There are fragments of three different species of trees in this image.
We can identify the source and if the environment (i.e home, office, school) has been impacted by smoke from that particular source.
