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Wildfires -- sometimes called bushfires -- are
uncontrolled fires
that burn through vegetation in areas like
forests and grasslands.
And they’re a perfectly natural part of
many ecosystems.
Many forests actually need wildfires to survive
-- they add
important nutrients back into the soil, and
they can be required
for seed germination and growth.
Unfortunately, thanks to climate change, land
use, and other factors,
many regions are experiencing longer, more
dangerous wildfire seasons,
with longer-lasting, more frequent blazes.
So researchers are working hard to fight wildfires,
both as they rage and before they start, with
the power of technology.
Here are four super high-tech ways we’re
trying to stop wildfires
in their tracks.
And one that’s... a bit simpler.
One way tech can help us tackle wildfires
is by improving
existing firefighting technologies.
In the case of chemical flame retardants,
that means
making them... stickier.
Right now, firefighters use more than 100
million gallons
of chemical flame retardants—like ammonium
polyphosphate,
or APP—to extinguish out-of-control blazes
each year.
Firefighters apply APP to vegetation that’s
in the way of
an advancing wildfire, often by dropping it
out of
specially-equipped planes.
The APP adheres to plants and creates a protective
chemical coating.
As the APP burns, it releases water vapor,
which helps
extinguish the flames.
It also leaves behind a black, fire-resistant
charcoal residue
that protects the vegetation from burning.
So while it might look like a fire has burned
APP-treated plants
to a crisp, it actually hasn’t.
The goal of APP is to prevent wildfires from
consuming the fuel
they need to keep growing… because when
there’s no more fuel,
there’s no more fire.
So if APP can put out a wildfire, what’s
the big problem?
Well, while it does work, it’s most effective
at minimizing
the damage from fires that have already broken
out.
That’s because APP is water soluble and
can be washed off
of plants easily.
High winds can blow it off, too.
So while APP is a great tool for fighting
fires, it’s not realistic
to use it for season-long fire prevention.
But scientists are working to change that
by combining APP
with viscoelastic fluids.
A viscoelastic fluid is unique because it
can behave both
like an elastic solid and a viscous liquid.
In other words, a viscoelastic fluid is both
stretchy and sticky,
kind of like bread dough.
In a 2019 study, scientists at Stanford University
announced
that they had developed a type of viscoelastic
fluid that
combines plant-derived cellulose with colloidal
silica particles.
The result is what its inventors have dubbed
“molecular velcro,”
thanks to its ability to stick to plants way
better than APP alone.
When you mix this viscoelastic fluid with
APP, 50% more
fire retardant sticks to vegetation, and it
can stay put
even after a half inch of rainfall.
In fact, in the researchers’ tests, grass
treated with this
mixture just… wouldn’t catch on fire.
And even better: they think it’s environmentally
safe enough
to leave on plants long-term.
They hope this new viscoelastic fluid will
one day
let firefighters protect vulnerable areas
-- like steep inclines,
roadways, and man-made structures -- before
wildfires ever break out.
Next up… drones!
Drones are the poster child for flashy tech.
And they’re helping fight fires too -- in
more ways
than you might expect.
Because drones are remotely operated, they’re
able to fly
into dangerous areas where it’s not safe
for people
or even aircraft to travel.
But scientists are also developing drones
that can
fight fire with fire… literally.
Lighting a fire to fight a fire is called
a backfire.
To do that, firefighters first create a containment
line
in front of a wildfire to keep it from moving
past a certain point.
Containment lines can be a naturally occurring
barrier,
like a river. Often, though, they’re artificial
trenches.
Then, you have to light the backfire.
Which is where the flashy tech comes in.
Drones equipped with a system called IGNIS
can swoop in
and set a new fire on the wildfire side of
the containment line.
The backfire consumes fuel that is in the
path of the
original wildfire, and because fires need
fuel to burn,
the backfire prevents the wildfire from spreading.
The IGNIS-equipped drones light backfires
by dropping spheres
the size of ping pong balls, called Dragon
Egg spheres,
wherever firefighters want the new fires to
start.
The Dragon Eggs are injected with a chemical
called glycol
right before they’re released from the drone,
which causes
a chemical reaction that ignites 30 seconds
after
the Dragon Egg is released.
That ensures that the Dragon Eggs catch fire
after they’ve
reached the ground.
The IGNIS system typically carries around
400 Dragon Egg spheres,
and it can drop them at a rate of up to 120
spheres per minute.
That lets one IGNIS-equipped drone ignite
several hundred hectares
of land every hour, which helps firefighters
start a backfire
quickly and safely.
These fire-starting drones can also set controlled
burns,
which firefighters and foresters use to safely
remove
accumulated leaves, limbs, grass, and debris
that
can fuel dangerous wildfires.
And, drones can even help restore burned areas.
Drones fitted with seed distribution systems
can help
reseed deforested areas far away from people,
which can help
forests recover from fires faster.
Researchers have developed drones that are
specifically designed
to help replant wildfire-ravaged areas quickly
and efficiently.
First, one set of drones creates a 3D map
of an area,
and once that’s done, the seeding drones
get to work.
Each drone can carry about 26 kilograms of
seed vessels,
which are small cubes containing a mixture
of soil,
fertilizer, and tree seeds.
The drones then drop the seed vessels over
the fire-ravaged area.
Right now, each drone can plant about one
third of a hectare
each flight, and a full swarm of five drones
can plant
about 16 hectares a day.
That means a single drone swarm could replant
an area
the size of New York’s Central Park in just
three weeks.
So, sorry, Johnny Appleseed… it looks like you might have
been replaced.
Artificial intelligence is also adding some
seriously
high-tech juice to our wildfire-prevention
kit.
For instance, in a 2017 paper, one group of
scientists proposed
an AI technology, called Particle Swarm Optimized
Neural Fuzzy,
or PSO-NF.
Now, while that name might tell computer scientists
everything
they need to know, for the rest of us, that
basically means
that the AI calculates an environment's susceptibility
to wildfires --
specifically, a tropical forest.
It does this by taking important environmental
data points
like land use, elevation, temperature, rainfall,
and wind speed.
Then, it builds a Geographic Information System,
or GIS, database.
A GIS database compiles, stores, and analyzes
all sorts of
geographical data, like surface elevation,
vegetation types
and densities, and even the location of man-made
structures
like buildings and streets.
Once researchers build a GIS database of a
specific area,
the PSO-NF AI can then analyze the data and
look for patterns,
which allow it to predict when and where wildfires
could break out.
A tech company in California is developing
AI technology
that detects wildfires as soon as they start.
To do this, an AI program analyzes satellite
images
to monitor fire-prone areas.
The AI searches for wildfire signs that are
invisible
to the naked eye, like temperature spikes,
smoke, or hotspots.
Once the AI spots the warning signs of a fire,
it alerts
the authorities so they can respond before
the blaze
grows out of control.
Eventually, this technology will be able to
scan California’s
33 million acres of forest every 10 minutes
as a first line
of defense against potentially devastating
wildfires.
So AI can help us predict wildfires and spot
them
as soon as they start -- or even before.
But what about when they’re already burning
out of control?
Another group of scientists at the University
of California
San Diego have developed an AI technology
called Firemap
that’s helping firefighters predict the
path of a wildfire
in real time.
Firemap uses satellite imaging to get a better
understanding
of the development, terrain, and even vegetation
of an area,
which it uses to calculate how a fire might
move
through that specific location.
It also connects to hundreds of remote weather
stations
so it can include pertinent weather data,
like wind speed
and wind direction, into its calculations.
The program then uses the data to create a
model that can predict
the movement of an active blaze.
That way, firefighters can deploy emergency
workers and supplies
to where they’re needed most.
But even with all of these remote technologies,
fighting wildfires still requires sending
lots of people
into pretty dangerous situations.
The unpredictability of wildfires makes them
especially dangerous
for firefighters, since conditions can go
from safe to deadly
within minutes.
But we might be able to help them do their
jobs
and stay safe through the use of augmented
reality.
Being able to see through smoke, for example,
would be a huge deal.
A new augmented reality technology called
C-Thru gives
firefighters a heads-up display inside their
facemasks.
The C-Thru system uses a thermal camera to
map the terrain
in front of a firefighter in real time, even
in the smokiest conditions.
An on-board computer then turns the data into
outlines
of the surrounding area and anybody within
it, which is then sent
to the mask’s display.
So even if it’s dark, smokey, or both, they
can hopefully see
well enough to make it back to safety.
This AR technology is actually being developed
for structural fires,
like burning buildings, but it’s being adapted
for fighting wildfires, too.
But not all solutions have to be high-tech
--
sometimes going old-school is best.
And this one’s really old school.
It’s the small but mighty... goat.
One of the best ways to prevent wildfires
from getting out of control
is to limit the amount of fuel the fires have
--
stuff like fallen leaves, grasses, and other
underbrush.
But it can be hard for humans to clear out
vegetation
in areas with rough terrain or steep inclines.
That’s why some states have turned to goats
to keep wildfire fuel
to a minimum.
Goats are tiny, efficient mulchers that can
chew through
underbrush in places that weed whackers and
mowers can’t reach.
In fact, one goat can eat up to four and a
half pounds of vegetation
a day… making them fuzzy, adorable vegetation
decimators.
And as an added bonus, the goats leave behind
some pretty great fertilizer too.
So while goats can’t fly over wildfires
or predict where one
will crop up next, they can provide an eco-friendly,
low-cost,
highly cute option for keeping wildfire-feeding
vegetation under control.
Unfortunately, many of these technologies
are still in development
and not ready for widespread use.
And even if they were widely available, they
don’t address
the real underlying causes of wildfires: things
like
climate change and poor land management.
But until we can bring those structural issues
under control,
we’ll at least have help from fire-starting
drones and hungry goats.
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