One way the Forest Service fights wildfires like the Bighorn fire now on the edge of Tucson is by dropping Phos-
Chek, that red stuff you see coming from fixed wing airplanes. The purpose is to create a barrier ahead of the fire to stop it from going further. Some Phos-Chek drops can be as much as a mile long.
The Forest Service has posted a video of the effect of a Phos-Chek drop on an SUV. Let me tell you that you do not want to be anywhere near it. The SUV is destroyed. In the photo, above, you can see the red stripes on the mountainside where the Phos-Chek drop occurred on the steep slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
And here is the Forest Service video warning people about the incredible power of the drops. The scary part is at 1:35.
