He gave an enthusiastic “Oh yeah” when asked by AFP if it works.
McCurry said he has seen photos “where a brush fire burned right up to a Phos-Chek line and then stopped,” but expressed some caution.
He cited a former firefighter as telling him that in a high-intensity fire it’s “not much use,” and said that the high winds which have fanned the fires in Los Angeles may have limited its effectiveness.
‘Practically non-toxic’
The Forest Service said it only uses retardants that “meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s criteria for being ‘practically non-toxic’ to mammals, including humans, and aquatic species.”
It prohibits drops in waterways and areas that are home to threatened or endangered species — the only exception being “where human life or public safety is threatened” and the retardant could be “reasonably expected” to stave off that threat, a spokesman told AFP.
