The Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, is now safe from the Alisal Fire, which has burned more than 17,000 acres. The Young Americas Foundation, owners of the Reagan Ranch, took a proactive approach to protecting the Ranch from wildfire earlier this year when they treated the 688-acre property with PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY long-term fire retardant. Produced by Perimeter Solutions, who provided the retardant at no cost, PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is a ground-based long-term fire retardant that is formulated so that one application provides protection from wildfires that will continue to remain effective even after a significant rain event. With the Alisal Fire nearly contained, PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is being credited as part of the solution that saved the Ranch from damage.
PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY helps render vegetation and other fuels where it’s applied non-flammable. The long-term fire retardant is formulated to have extended durability and greater adherence to vegetation and other fuels to provide protection from wildfires that will continue to remain effective even after a significant rain event. Unlike retardant dropped from aircraft, which is coloured red to help pilots track where it is dropped, the PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY solution is clear.
This past July, a team from Perimeter Solutions applied thousands of gallons of PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY to areas of the Ranch that were considered at high risk from wildfire damage. The company left two additional totes of retardant in the event that it was needed, and the extra stock of PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY proved to be valuable as the Alisal Fire continued to grow in intensity over the past couple of weeks.
‘Although we have invested a lot in our fire abatement systems at Rancho del Cielo, we wanted to take an even more proactive approach to protecting the property from wildfires, which present the greatest threat to the future of the Reagan Ranch,’ says Andrew Coffin, Vice President of Young America’s Foundation and Director of the Reagan Ranch. ‘Since the Alisal Fire started to grow in intensity, planes have dropped PHOS-CHEK fire retardant around the property to provide protection. The USDA Forest Service also activated bulldozers to create firebreak lines in key areas on the property, and we are especially grateful that we had additional PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY on site. Working with the Forest Service, we applied the additional supply to protect the Reagan home and other key historic structures, and the home’s surrounding fence, which was built out of telephone poles by President Reagan. The retardant application gave us an extra level of confidence that we could protect this national treasure if fire intruded onto the property.’
PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is relatively new, and earlier this month it was added to the USFS Qualified Products List (QPL) of long-term fire retardants, making it the first and only high-durable fire retardant approved by the USDA Forest Service for preventative application on US federal Lands and most state lands. PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is starting to be widely adopted by utilities, railroads, insurance companies, homeowners and other high-hazard industries who are helping to prevent wildfire ignitions and proactively protecting their property from wildfires.
‘It is impossible to predict where and when wildfires are going to happen, but it is important for everyone in areas at high-risk for wildfires to take a proactive approach to protecting their property,’ according to Edward Goldberg, CEO of Perimeter Solutions. ‘People should follow Firewise principals, such as clearing brush and moving flammable materials away from structures; and applying PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY will help provide an extra layer of protection. We are grateful and proud that we have played a role in helping to preserve such an historically significant site.’
For more information on Perimeter Solutions, visit www.perimeter-solutions.com
