FIRESTOPPER: gel could fireproof high-risk areas
A new liquid which can be sprayed in advance onto high-risk vegetation might prevent Californian wildfires from taking hold.
In this terrible fire season, Australians don’t need any more statistics to know the crucial importance of fire prevention. But scientists from Stanford University have a new idea after working with fire authorities to obtain and analyse data from 305,000 fires in California over the past 10 years. They found that 84% of these fires originated along roads and in other populated places, typically in dry grass and other low vegetation. If such high risk zones could be made significantly more fire-resistant, it is possible that a great many fires could be stopped before they really get started. The scientists have come up with a fire-resistant liquid that might be suitable for the task. The familiar red fire-resistant liquids that we see dropped from planes typically contain phosphate fertiliser which helps cool down and slow the fire; the colouring marks the area that has been treated. The new liquid is thicker and more durable, almost like a sticky gel. When sprayed onto grass, etc., it spreads and settles as a film. In the event of fire, the heat makes the ingredients of the gel react together, resulting in a layer of insulating carbon that keeps both heat and oxygen away from the grass, so the fire can quickly die out. The gel protects against fire throughout the dry season, and it would be rinsed away only when the drought is broken by heavy rain.