FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl was interviewed this morning on a public radio news program focusing on the use of fire retardant to fight wildfires.
It’s a subject FSEEE knows quite a bit about. Several years ago, we won a pair of lawsuits that placed limits on how fire retardant can be used. Ammonia phosphate, a key ingredient in the red-colored retardant, is toxic to fish. (The main ingredient in fire retardant is water.)
Andy emphasized there’s no solid evidence that using fire retardant is effective in fighting fires. He said FSEEE would support the use of fire retardant if it can be proven that it works in certain places under certain conditions. The Forest Service is currently conducting a study to examine just that.
“Until then,” Andy said, “we’re throwing the world’s most expensive water out of airplanes for no good cause.”
