We see the Los Angeles area experiencing extreme drought and storm winds that carry embers from spontaneous fires into densely populated forested hills and valleys.
The scientific community is invited to urgently address this question:
“What technologies could be deployed to help extinguish these fires as well as prevent the recurrence of such disasters?”
Faced with the emergency situation currently observed in California, we need transdisciplinary knowledge, reflections and exchanges of experiences, as in the development of knowledge on fundamental rights (my main subject of interest).
Let's share ideas on this topic to propose solutions to these complex problems for our common protection.
In response to the current situation, which is extremely urgent:
- Would it be possible to organize the continuous convoy of seawater towards the summits of inhabited hills using tank trucks which would take turns?
- Could a seawater pumping system be assembled urgently using pipes, pumps and tanks?
- Could there be cranes lifting containers filled with sea water up the hills?
Drones have a role to play https://www.zinio.com/gb/article/the-wired-world/2024-i589734/emergency-service-drones-a45 and aircraft are being deployed https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/10/us/super-scooper-drone-collision-la-fire-canada-hnk-intl/index.html
These are after the fact. Prevention is better than cure https://global.oup.com/academic/product/disaster-by-choice-9780198841357
The smoke column above the fire has a minimum of pure oxygen, which ensures combustion. Pumping this smoke cloud back into the combustion zone reduces the rate of fire spread. The conditions for extinguishing the fire are improved.
The idea belongs to Yuli Sokolovsky
Vladimir Rotkin Is this the principle behind the use of a red powder sprinkled by helicopters on the fire ? Is it used to deplete the fire of oxygen? What is this powder made of?
Flame retardants suppress or delay the spread of fire by suppressing chemical reactions in the flame or forming a protective layer on the material's surface. They can be mixed with the base material (additive flame retardants) or chemically bonded to it (reactive flame retardants).
Vladimir Rotkin Ilan Kelman Giuseppe Lorini Shurooq Talab Jaafar Thomas P V Tolgonai Toichubaeva
There are sophisticated ways to fight fires today, but doesn't the situation in Los Angeles require the use of the abundant and readily available natural resources that are seawater and sand?
It appears that SAND works well as an extinguishing material because it absorbs heat and smothers fire by reducing oxygen supply...
Could it not be brought to the top of the hills, and then dropped so as to be advantageously mixed with water, ashes, and other debris?
Ilan Kelman The city of Dubai causes artificial rain with the help of drones... Could this be done in Los Angeles now? See: https://youtu.be/jXlK0Sx73HM
Humanity has a long history of attempting weather modification, with mixed results. The area around Los Angeles is quite different from the area around Dubai. If this approach were taken, then proceed with caution and be prepared for any adverse consequences.
Another idea. Dump "dry ice" - solid phase CO2. The resulting carbon dioxide reduces the oxygen concentration, and the melting ice cools the flame.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-takes-inspiration-from-iron-dome-for-system-to-stop-wildfires/
Ready-made solution!
Vladimir Rotkin To prevent future disasters caused by fires regularly lit by wind and embers in an area as populous as Los Angeles, it would indeed be useful for buildings to be equipped with security systems including "HOT SPOT SENSORS" connected to FIRE RETARDANT SPILL SYSTEMS that would be activated by COMPUTER INTELLIGENCE... Even if it were only a few homes that had them, it would likely help reduce the power and heat of fires. Do you agree ?
FireDome uses an AI-controlled sensor system to monitor fire sources and respond quickly.
When the forest fires of January 2025 are eradicated, the Angelinos will be able to think about rebuilding. They will then have to worry about the "fire" element, that is, getting rid of the dangerous bushes that dry up and ignite dangerously as soon as the winds of Santa Anna rise...
They will then have to choose between continuing towards desertification or opting for rigorously controlled hydration.
The speculative construction of luxury housing in the last century led to the somewhat too easy choice of desertification... But if this continues, Californians' land will soon resemble that of their neighbors in Nevada and Arizona: crops will become increasingly scarce, impacting food security for generations to come.
By opting instead for a collective and utilitarian reconstruction, they will succeed in continuously hydrating by means of the desalination of seawater and the installation of pumping systems aided by computer intelligence in the hills. This choice of water will ensure the greatest security, but will require in-depth reflection, significant investments and a real collective republican commitment.
In this video, a firefighter explains that a dual-water system already exists in San Francisco and that one of the two systems allows seawater to be used when it is necessary to extinguish fires.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1N2BwcAT-s
Wikipedia explains that this is an old innovation, dating back to 1909...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Fire_Department_Auxiliary_Water_Supply_System
We are discovering its relevance again today.
How CO2 could be used to put out forest fires near homes is explained in this article:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/331/1/012015/pdf
"In a region where intense wildfire is approaching fast, the following should be done to protect the houses which are at least 200 meter from the fire lines:
Spread dry ice chunks surrounding each house (outside up to a width of at least 1 m, 2-3” thick and parallel to the sides) and on the roof and inside, and outside verandah, after evacuating all the people. Spread liquefied CO2 or gas CO2 inside enough and close all windows and doors. Remove as many trees and dry combustible staff from yards as soon as possible if fire approaches the house through the ground. Then it will stop at the outside as the immediate area will be cold and filled with CO2. Even if fire penetrates inside somehow, its intensity will be substantially less, as inside of the house is filled with CO2. If fire touches the roof, it will not be intense if dry ice is spread there. Following the above methods, the inferno will be quenched, and the fire approaching line will retreat. If $1.08 MN is spent for the liquefied CO2 (50%) at a cost of $50-55 per ton, see new emission capture technology below and dry ice (50%) at a cost of $50-55 per ton, then these materials should be able to quench (when dropped from helicopters and trucks) complete wildfire (20 m high) over an area of 1 Km X 1 Km. It will save lives and properties. The wildfire in Carr [sees Fig. 9b], California can be extinguished in a far shorter time and with fewer personals and with less or no water when the above technique is used."
But could this technique really be used in the hills of Los Angeles ?
Has this method been tried for the Pallissade and Eaton fires in 2025?
There are precautions that Los Angeles residents took for granted, but were surprisingly overlooked, such as:
- ensure that emergency tanks for the water supply are always filled (especially in period of dry weather) to deal with the additional risk of fire : surprisingly, the Santa Inez reserve was emptied for several months before the disaster... Source: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-22/why-has-a-reservoir-in-palisades-stood-empty-for-a-year
- plan all conceivable and region-specific disaster scenarios, with all the necessary details and without omitting the worst, so that it becomes possible to quickly and efficiently organize procedures that will allow the optimal solution of the complex problems that people have already thought of. Source: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-17700-2_9
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