Questions About Wildfires And How To Fight Them, Answered

It can look ominous, but the red fire retardant dropped from planes to quell wildfires is, relatively speaking, a positive. The substance is a mix of water and fertilizer that puts out fires more quickly and more efficiently than water alone.

The mixture of water and fertilizer used during the wildfires in Los Angeles in early 2025 is called Phos-Chek. According to civil and environmental engineering professor Daniel McMurray: 

It's one of maybe only two products currently approved for aerial use by the Forest Service.

McCurry also explained why it's red:

It's basically a mixture of water, fertilizer, and then the red color that you see is just rust.

The color burns off under the sun over time. 

The reason a fire retardant like Phos-Chek works has to do with the reaction of the ammonium phosphate fertilizer and plants in intense heat. The result is a non-flammable carbon material.

McCurry clarified, however:

They don't tend to drop [retardant] directly in the center of an ongoing fire… They tend to drop kind of at the barrier of it because they're trying to prevent it from spreading. And the reason that these products are kind of useful for that potentially is that the active ingredient is not water. Right? It's the fertilizer. So even after the water evaporates, you still have that red stripe there for days or weeks.

When a plane drops either water or fire retardant on or near a wildfire, it's after an extensive process to get it ready. For water, planes known as “Super Scoopers” fill their water tanks by gliding across the surface of open water. Super Scoopers usually go about 100 mph when they do this and can pick up as much as 1,600 gallons of water in 12 seconds.

Planes that drop fire retardants like Phos-Chek or Fire-Trol include airtankers of various sizes that hold hundreds or thousands of gallons of fire retardant. Their tanks are filled with pre-mixed fire retardant or a concentrated fire retardant is mixed with water. 

Planes carrying fire retardants generally have to land to reload.

Helicopters are also used. Some firefighting helicopters have “Bambi Buckets” to scoop up water from lakes and rivers. The name “Bambi Bucket” doesn't refer to the animated deer or anyone else but it's actually the result of a joke. Founder Don Arney came. 

up with the name, and just out of the air he said, ”We'll call it the Bambi Bucket." Don was just joking, but is friend said, “It sounds good - it's a great name”

If firefighting helicopters carry fire retardant, they hover over or land at a refill station to refill, as needed. 

It is possible to be punished legally for starting a wildfire but it also depends on the fire and whether or not intent was involved. Federally, failure to put out a campfire, a cigarette, or other fire can lead to up to six months in prison and a fine. This is true for simply leaving a fire unattended.

States have laws of their own and they differ significantly. In California, for example:

Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by a fine, or by both such imprisonment and fine.

Arson can lead to even bigger penalties. Federally, an arsonist can be sentenced to up to 20 years in jail but, if someone is injured, that time can be doubled. States have laws of their own, too, with varying degrees of severity and punishment. 

If someone dies and a fire is accidental, involuntary manslaughter charges are possible. For arsonists, murder charges may be an option. 

Fire suppression in the wild is carried out by wildfire fighters, members of the National Guard, or, in some states, prison inmates. The United States Forest Service employs over 10,000 professional firefighters. In 2025, thousands of members of the Air National Guard in California flew planes dropping fire retardant over and near the wildfires in Los Angeles. 

California is a state that uses prison inmates to fight wildfires (there are more than a dozen) but not without controversy. Inmates have fought wildfires in California for more than a century, but there are increasing concerns about whether or not they choose to do so. Corrections officials insist all inmates are given a choice and none are penalized not taking part.

The health risks are another concern, as are the low wages inmates receive for fighting wildfires. California rejected a proposition to ban using inmates to fight fires in 2024 (Nevada passed one, in contrast).

One additional group of individuals fighting wildfires are private firefighters. Private firefighters are hired by individuals to protect their property or, as was seen with the 2025 LA wildfires, employed by insurance companies. 

Questions and concerns about the practice - intended to minimize insurance company's losses that result from wildfires - have been raised with respect to water usage, prioritization, and business ethics.  

There's no one way wildfires start. Wildfires may begin naturally from a lightning strike or even the hot sun. Manmade wildfires are more common than natural occurring ones, however. In fact, the National Park Service estimates “nearly 85% of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans.”

A campfire that wasn't extinguished or was left unattended, an ember flying through the air from a campfire or a backyard fire, fireworks, or even a still-burning cigarette butt can all lead to a wildfire. 

Powerlines or some other machine that sparks may start a fire as well. In March 2024, Xcel Energy admitted fault in a wildfire that killed two people and thousands of animals. The Smokehouse Creek fire, as it was known, also destroyed more than 50 homes. In 2023, Pacific Gas and Electric paid more than $50 million in settlements after its equipment started the Zogg fire in California in 2020. 

Arson is one additional way wildfires start. The Palisades Fire of 2021 was caused by arson, as was the Station Fire of 2009, both in California. 

The cause of the wildfires in LA in 2025 is still under investigation. 

During a wildfire, terms like “containment” and “control” are used a lot but it's not always clear what those words mean.

“Containment” refers to the percentage of a wildfire that is considered limited in terms of spread. Preventing the spread of a wildfire may be accomplished by digging ditches (over which the fire cannot jump), dropping fire retardant, or making perimeter boundaries and barriers in other ways. Natural barriers like rivers and lakes also prove helpful.

Within the boundaries of a contained fire, however, environmental scientist Janice Coen pointed out, “The fire may still be actively burning.” Only after a fire is completely contained is it considered “controlled.” 

Controlling a fire also means making sure the interior of the control line is extinguished or, in other words, “mopping up”.