Crews spray fire retardant along I-84 near Mountain Home to reduce wildfire risk

Crews from Perimeter Solutions are working to reduce the risk of roadside fires in Mountain Home by spraying fire retardant along 30 miles of I-84. The retardant is the same kind that is dropped from airplanes and helicopters to fight wildfires.

• Crews will be spraying fire retardant along I-84 Sept 5th and 6th.
• The retardant will be effective until the next major rain event.
• The retardant is clear rather than dyed red, travelers won't be able visually tell that an area has been treated.

( Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

“We’re getting prepped to do, second year in a row of doing a preventative project that we’re doing along roadsides," said Nate Winemiller with Perimeter Solutions.

A lot of Idaho wildfires start on the side of the road.

“One of the things that we’ve looked into is, instead of having to focus be on the suppression and reaction side, is how can we use data that we have and knowing where some of these starts are to mitigate those," says Winemiller.

To prevent fires from sparking along I-84 near Mountain Home, Nate and his team are out spraying that dry brush on the roadside with the same fire retardant we often see dropped from planes to battle wildfires.

Earlier this week, our Steve Dent showed us how crews battling the Wapiti Fire near Stanley set up mobile mixing stations for helicopters to scoop and drop from above.

Back in Elmore County, the only difference is this mix skips the red dye.

“Because of the dry fuel bed, this will help any spark from chains, cigarette butts, the normal activity that goes on the freeway that starts fires," added Eric Clancy, the Portable Operations Manager for Perimeter Solutions.

He’s working to mix retardant concentrate with water.

“We’ll be treating 15 miles of I 84 on both sides of the freeway,” Clancy told me.

One worry some people have with fire retardant is concerns of PFAS or "forever chemicals" impacting the environement. But, Winemiller tells me this solution is phosphate-based, acting as plant fertilizer once it washes away.

"With it being a phosphate-based retardant, a lot of misconceptions are on that side, there isn’t any PFAS in the retardant that we use. So, that’s always a big concern on the environmental end," added Winemiller.