Bright pink fire retardant streaks are a common sight as the wildfires in Southern California continue to burn.
Strong Santa Ana winds have fueled the fires, which have burnt around 40,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area and claimed at least 25 lives. The Palisades Fire, the biggest fire in the region, was 19% contained as of Wednesday, more than a week after it started. The smoke has prompted a public health emergency in Los Angeles County.
Phos-Chek is the name of the powdered material that is sprayed on the wildfires. It can be administered on the ground by trucks or dropped from the air.Although gum is added to increase accuracy for aerial drops, its main ingredients are water, ammonium phosphate, a substance frequently found in fertilizer, and pink coloring.
Phos-Chek is a retardant substance made from fertilizer. According to Shannon Horn, chief operating officer of Perimeter Solutions, the company that makes Phos-Chek, the components are the same ones that are found in your lawn care fertilizer.
Ammonium phosphate can alter how plant cellulose responds to heat when it is used as a fire retardant. Normally, when plants are exposed to fire heat, they start to break down and turn into fuel, but Phos-Chek works as a coating, forming a barrier that absorbs the heat energy. By creating a nonflammable carbon substance, the reaction buys firefighters time by delaying a fire.