The death toll is rising from devastating wildfires in Southern California that have destroyed more than 10,000 homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. The most significant of the fires include the Palisades Fire, which has burned approximately 20,000 acres and the Eaton Fire, which covers nearly 14,000 acres. Neither fire has been contained.
A major challenge in battling the fires is a dwindling water supply. The Palisades Fire is along the California coast, prompting people to question why firefighters aren’t using the Pacific Ocean to help extinguish the fires.
One viral X post with 29 million views asks, “Is there any particular reason why we can’t use ocean water to help put out the fires?” A VERIFY reader also texted us to ask if ocean water can be used to put out fires.
THE QUESTION
Can ocean water be used to fight wildfires?
THE SOURCES
- Mónica Muñoz, spokesperson for the San Diego Fire Department
- Susan McKelvey, spokesperson for the National Fire Protection Association
- A 2015 study titled “Influence of wildfire and fire suppression by seawater on soil properties”
- Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz in a 2016 The Orange County Register article
THE ANSWER
Yes, ocean water can be used to extinguish wildfires, but there are logistical challenges with using saltwater to battle fires.
WHAT WE FOUND
Los Angeles firefighters are using specialized water-bombing planes out of Canada to pull water from the Pacific Ocean to help combat the fires currently burning. However, saltwater can be less effective, can corrode equipment and damage the soil where it’s used.
Susan McKelvey, a spokesperson for the National Fire Protection Association, told VERIFY departments that have access to ocean water do use it when extinguishing fires, but on a limited basis due to corrosion. Mónica Muñoz, spokesperson for the San Diego Fire Department, cited corrosion as a reason why they don’t commonly use ocean water.
“It’s not our standard practice to draw from the ocean or bay because of the extreme corrosiveness of salt water. Only in the most extreme circumstances… to protect life, would we draw from a bay or ocean. The water causes damage to our apparatus and helicopter pump systems,” Muñoz told VERIFY.
McKelvey said typically if equipment is used to transport saltwater, it’s flushed with fresh water afterward in order to preserve the quality of the materials.
Environmental harm is another factor to consider when using saltwater, Technology.org explains. According to a 2015 study on saltwater’s effect on soil when used in fire suppression, soil properties are already altered during and after a wildfire. Seawater adds salts to the soil, further altering its chemical composition.
The combined impact of the wildfire and the salt from the seawater influences soil health, vegetation recovery and can have long-term effects on the local ecosystem.
Saltwater is also less effective in putting out fires in certain scenarios. Technology.org notes “the presence of salt can reduce the cooling effect of water, making it less efficient at lowering the temperature of the fire.”
Logistical challenges also complicate the use of ocean water. In 2016, Larry Kurtz, captain with the Orange County Fire Authority, described those difficulties to The Orange County Register.
“If we used seawater for all inland fires, we would have to draw it out of the ocean, transport it by truck to a location, dump it into some kind of portable holding pool, and then draw it into our pumps for use on the fire … As for using seawater for firefighting helicopters or ‘super scooper’ fixed-wing aircraft, the problem is safety,” Kurtz told the newspaper.
He continued, “Our helicopters hover approximately three, four feet above the water’s surface to use its suction hose to draw up water. I’m sure you could imagine what could happen if an extra-large swell or rough wave suddenly struck the side of the aircraft. The lakes and reservoirs are much safer (and for most brush fires, a lot closer) than our Pacific Ocean.”