The red color of the fire retardant is caused by the chemical component iron oxide, commonly known as rust. The retardant is colored with the component so it is easily seen from the air and by ...

Also referred to as red slurry, the retardant is the bright red material seen dropping from airplanes as they fly over the fire. The bright color makes it easier for pilots to see where previous ...

Air tankers and chemical fire retardants have been used since the ... "It's basically a mixture of water, fertilizer, and then the red color that you see is just rust," McCurry says of the older ...

This color then slowly fades when exposed to sunlight, according to Perimeter Solutions. It's hard to measure the efficiency of fire retardant because it's one of several tactics used to fight ...

Crews battling the deadly Los Angeles wildfires have been dropping a bright pink fire retardant across the city ... iron ...

The chemicals found in some retardants can also be fatal to aquatic life and high concentrations of the metals can be toxic ...

depleting the fire of oxygen, and slowing the rate of fuel combustion as the retardant’s inorganic salts change how fuels burn.” “It’s basically a mixture of water, fertilizer, and then the red color ...

The vibrant pink color is used to help firefighters see ... The front steps and mailbox of an house in Mandeville Canyon after fire retardant was dropped on the neighborhood.

In the wild, the color fades over time with exposure to ... regardless of whether there's fire retardant used or not, is just air pollution — like particulate matter," he says.