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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