The US West Coast wildfire season used to be 4 months long.
Now it’s 8, running from May to January. 2.5 million acres of land have burned in California alone this year.
But for desperate homeowners in fire prone regions, there may be hope. Several new technologies have been developed recently that may protect homes from these terrifying fires.
Long-Acting Chemical Sprays
Just today, the US Forest Service approved a new fire retardant chemical. It can be sprayed on houses and critical infrastructure and last for months.
It may even last an entire fire season.
The chemical is called PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY®. Developed by Perimeter Solutions in Missouri, it is the first fire retardant that can protect structures for the long term.
I could see every house in the West being coated in this material or something like it each spring.
Fire Blankets
Giant foil blankets have saved some homes from wildfires.
However, a study by Case Western Reserve University Prof. Fumiaki Takahashi found that fire blankets are usually only effective for short periods. In a prolonged fire, they may fail.
Dry Ice
An intriguing possibility I first heard about on a recent episode of This Week in Startups. The idea is that CO2 from the dry ice would suffocate the fire, which needs oxygen to burn.
Unfortunately, this approach does not seem very effective for forest fires. From a study presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigation Science and Technology:
To be effective against class A fires, the solid state CO2 tends to need to be in direct contact with the fuel material. As many forest fires travel through the canopy, this is not a feasible extinguishment method.
Wrap Up
The best candidate looks like a long term fire retardant chemical. Coupled with advanced satellite imaging to track fires just seconds after they begin, it could be a powerful tool to stop these fires.
Best of luck to the innovative companies and researchers tackling this huge challenge!
More on tech:
What if Everyone on Earth Had Super Fast Internet for $1?
Male Contraception With an Ultrasound Device?
Robot Hands, Vertical Farms, and the Future of Food
Why I Just Invested in Capbase, The Startup in a Box
Photo: “Wildfire” by USFWS/Southeast is marked with CC PDM 1.0
If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Reddit/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog!
Save Money on Stuff I Use:
Amazon Business American Express Card
You already shop on Amazon. Why not save $100?
If you’re approved for this card, you get a $100 Amazon gift card. You also get up to 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% on restaurants/gas stations/cell phone bills, and 1% everywhere else.
Best of all: No fee!
This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.
If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account.
The only place I buy vitamins and supplements. I recently placed an order and received it in less than 48 hours with free shipping! I compared the prices and they were lower than Amazon. I also love how they test a lot of the vitamins so that you know you’re getting what the label says. This isn’t always the case with supplements.
Use this link to save 5%!
My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.
Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order.
Tremendous 
One thought on “How Tech Could Stop Wildfires”