County uses groundbreaking technology to prevent wildfires

15 July 2022

USA – (SAN DIEGO) — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has contracted with

Clayton, MO-based Perimeter Solutions to provide PHOS-CHEK® FORTIFY® long-
term fire retardant as part of the County’s newly approved Roadside Vegetation

Management for Evacuation Preparedness Program. These efforts are a result of a
board letter introduced by Supervisors Anderson and Desmond in March of 2021.
“Keeping San Diego County residents safe from wildfires is one of my top priorities,
and it is critical that we take advantage of new technologies that help us to be more
proactive with our wildfire prevention efforts,” Supervisor Anderson shared. “I’d like to
thank County Fire staff, CAL-FIRE, and Perimeter Solutions for working together to
apply this fire retardant alongside Wildcat Canyon Road—the connection between
Lakeside and Barona that has a devastating history with wildfires.”
PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is a ground-based, highly durable fire retardant that is
applied on flammable vegetation and cellulosic material one time early in the fire
season before a wildfire approaches and provides ongoing protection from wildfire,
remaining effective until a significant rain event occurs. The USDA Forest Service
has used PHOS-CHEK long-term fire retardant for nearly 60 years to suppress and
prevent the spread of active wildfires.

“We are proud that San Diego County has selected Perimeter Solutions to partner
with them to help save lives and protect property. We applaud them for their initiative
in developing a proactive strategy to prevent wildfires and believe they have
developed a model that can be adopted by communities throughout the Western
United States and other areas impacted by wildfire,” says Wes Bolsen, Business
Director of Wildfire Prevention and Protection at Perimeter Solutions.
San Diego County maintains nearly 2,000 miles of roadway, many of which serve as
key corridors for area evacuation and response to wildfires. As wildfire season
increases in length and intensity, the risk of wildfire impacting the area continues to
rise. In fact, data show that 79% of unincorporated San Diego County falls in areas at
high or very high risk of wildfire, and that wildfires have burned more than 40% of the
unincorporated area since the year 2000.

15. July 2022/by GFMCadmin