Posted on 01/14/2025 2:15:42 PM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
As raging wildfires incinerated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles County, an enormous source of water lay tantalizingly within reach: the Pacific Ocean.
But for a variety of reasons, seawater—which has been used to some extent against the Palisades fire—isn’t ideal for fighting fires. It damages the environment, is corrosive and difficult to access.
Firefighters spray blazes with water because it wets and cools down materials that are burning or could catch fire. In that regard, saltwater and fresh water are basically the same, said Michael Gollner, a University of California, Berkeley, fire scientist.
However, when seawater is dumped in an area, it can raise the accumulated salt content of the soil once it evaporates, a process known as salinization.
“We try to avoid it, because saltwater is a soil sterilizer,” said Tim Chavez, a former assistant chief for Cal Fire and retired fire analyst based in Hemet, Calif.
Too much salt in the soil inhibits plant growth by making it challenging for the roots to absorb water, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Salinization also affects how easily nutrients move through the soil, diminishing the overall fertility of an area. Additionally, salt can be toxic to species that are less salt tolerant, such as some boxwood and dogwood trees.
“If you add salt to the soil, you’re not going to be able to grow anything there the next year,” Chavez said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
It has electrolytes, its what plants crave.
Good-let it sterilize the soil so no more kindling wood can grow there.
Salt water is the environment, dweebs.
Any damage from salt on soil can be mitigated with the proper plants.
No, it’s not okay to use seawater! Does noone care for the endangered plankton?
Sal, of YouTube ‘What’s Going on with Shipping’ pretty much debunks the premise of this story. As he explains, besides dealing with shipping he is a firefighter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1N2BwcAT-s&t=52s
Right. No wood to burn, if it’s all dead.
How many salt-hating plants could there be on that stretch of the PCH between the road and the water? Nothing but buildings. I can’t believe the owners let that happen unless they were away at their second or third houses…
There are two military boats that are sitting very near the fires. Both boats could pump ocean water through hoses and spray them onto houses along PCH. Nobody called them. They had endless water. Both boats were made just for this specific job. The military already owns and mans these boats. And yet they were never used. Hmmm. By the way, sea water is already in the air as winds pick it up and drop it on LA most of the time. And salt easily washes away with the next rain. And the toxic aftermath of a house fire is far worse than the sea water could ever be.
They would desalinate the seawater. This was approved ten years ago in CA.
You’re just using common sense and logic for your position on the matter. While libtards have inertia and incompetence for theirs.
It produces fire breaks, which helps a lot for fires-keeping it contained.
cultivate peat fields and distill Islay-styled scotch
Thank you for posting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1N2BwcAT-s&t=52s
Is an excellent video from Sal Mercogliano, a real expert.
“Firefighters spray blazes with water because it wets and cools down materials that are burning or could catch fire. In that regard, saltwater and fresh water are basically the same, said Michael Gollner, a University of California, Berkeley, fire scientist.”
Wow. I wish I were a “fire scientist.” Then I could impart useful information like this. I just wished he’d simplified it a bit, as I got a little confused
“We try to avoid it, because saltwater is a soil sterilizer”
?? For the area in question, and the management of brush, doesn’t that make it a ‘win win’?
When you’re down to your last hope and no other options remain it does help to have common sense. Cali seems to have a dearth of such.
Didn’t the Romans spread salt over fields?
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