There’s a new tool to prevent wildfires and for the first time, it’s being used in San Luis Obispo County.
Several miles of roadsides around Heritage Ranch near Lake Nacimiento are now coated with a long-term fire retardant.
“It's designed to spray alongside the road to keep fires from occurring, to stop ignitions and then if they do get ignition, reduce the spread to buy time to get the fire engines to arrive and put the fire out,” said Dan Turner, San Luis Obispo County Fire Safe Council Manger.
Phos-Chek Fortify is sprayed onto vegetation and other fuel sources that are vulnerable to fire.
“What the fortify product can do is adhere or coat the vegetation,” said Wes Bolsen, Perimeter Solutions Global Wildfire Prevention and Protection Business Director. “It helps to render it nonflammable so the vegetation chars and then if there were heat coming in, it releases H20.”