Wildfire suppressants dumped nearly a million pounds of toxic metals into the West U.S.

Companies supplying the USFS with wildfire suppressants may have been hiding various heavy metals present in their formula, according to an ongoing study.

Materials used in suppressants, including fire retardants, water enhancers, and foams, all have to be approved by the U.S. Forest Service, according to Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Daniel McCurry, a co-author of the study. However, the companies supplying the suppressants don’t have to disclose up to 20% of their product formulas, keeping them “trade secrets” under law.

Researchers from the USC’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering discovered much of the “trade secrets” could be toxic heavy metals. The team tested numerous wildfire suppressants and found they have released ~850,000 pounds of toxic metals into the environment in the Western United States from 2009-2021.

“Increased metals content in soils and surface waters at the wildland-urban interface has been observed after wildfires but has primarily been attributed to ash deposition or anthropogenic impact from nearby urban areas,” an introductory paper into the ongoing research said. ” In this study, metal concentrations in several fire suppression products (some approved by the U.S. Forest Service, and some marketed for consumer use) were quantified to evaluate whether these products could contribute to increased metal concentrations observed in the environment postfire.”

2019 retardant drop, photo by Kari Greer
2019 retardant drop, photo by Kari Greer

Researchers estimated the heavy metal amounts by purchasing the fire suppressant materials themselves and used equipment called inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometers. They found several contaminants in the materials, including:

  • vanadium
  • chromium
  • manganese
  • copper
  • arsenic
  • cadmium
  • antimony
  • barium
  • thallium
  • lead

They estimated the quantity of heavy metals that have been dropped in the Western U.S. over the last decade by using contaminant measurements and publicly available data on suppressant application rates.

The researchers concluded that at least 8 of the contaminants were present at concentrations above EPA drinking water contaminant levels and that 1 million gallons of dropped retardant later entered surface waters.

Additionally, a clear version of the pinkish-red material often seen in fire retardant air drops called “Phos-Chek LC-95 W” was found to have the greatest amount of heavy metals. Researchers even went as far as to note the material could be classified as “hazardous waste” under federal and California regulations.

“I think what surprised me most was the array of metals we found,” said the study’s lead author, Environmental Engineering  PhD student Marella Schammel.

“Some of them make sense as they’re used as corrosion inhibitors (chromium and cadmium) or are known contaminants in phosphate ores (arsenic, among others) used in the active ingredient of the retardant. But others, like vanadium – which there’s a ton of in Phos-Chek – were definitely unexpected.”

Researchers will continue studying how the toxic materials interacted with the environment by directly testing soil and waterways prior to and after the wildfire season.

Air Tanker 41, a BAe-146
Air Tanker 41, a BAe-146, drops retardant. BLM photo.

Wildfires and smoke are becoming more deadly around the world, research shows

Two recently released pieces of research paint a worrying picture of future wildland firefighting efforts: wildfires are burning more acreage, and wildfire smoke killing thousands more people than it previously did.

Both research studies, published Monday in the Nature Climate Change scientific journal, point to future challenges land management agencies will have to face as climate change creates hotter and more volatile conditions.

“The rate at which climate change impacts on wildfires is increasing every year,” Professor Wim Thiery, a co-author of the smoke study, told The Natural History Museum of London. “As we witness increasingly destructive fire seasons worldwide, it is essential that we not only adapt our policies to better manage fires, but also address the underlying causes of climate change.”

Wildfire smoke in the state of Washington

The first study looked into how climate change affects regional burned area patterns and found global burned area increases.

Simulations found climate change increased global burned area by 15.8% between 2003 and 2019, along with a 22% increase in the probability of experiencing months with above-average totals of burned area. Burned area also increased 0.22% per year globally, with the largest increase found in central Australia.

As wildfires burn more land, and average temperatures around the world continue to increase, so do deaths from air pollution from the flames’ smoke, according to researchers from the second study.

Researchers used “well-tested fire-vegetation” models to attribute global human mortality from PM2.5 emissions from wildfires to climate change. The models estimated around 10,000 more people died from wildfire smoke in the 2010s compared with the 1960s.

“Of the 46,401 (1960s) to 98,748 (2010s) annual fire PM2.5 mortalities, 669 (1.2%, 1960s) to 12,566 (12.8%, 2010s) were attributed to climate change,” the researchers said. “The most substantial influence of climate change on fire mortality occurred in South America, Australia and Europe, coinciding with decreased relative humidity and in boreal forests with increased air temperature.”

Kookipi Creek Fire

Evacuations hold for Utah’s largest wildfire of the season

The Yellow Lake Fire has burned 32,919 acres of Utah’s Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and is at 29% containment as of Wednesday morning, officially making it the state’s largest wildfire of the season.

The fire triggered mandatory Level 3 (Go) evacuation orders for all residents, hunters, and recreationists in the North and West Forks of Duchesne River and the Granddaddy Lakes area. A Level 2 (Set) order is in place for the community of Hanna. A widespread closure of the forest is also in effect until fire conditions improve.

Nearly 800 personnel are working the fire as jackpot fuels continue to spread fire growth. A Red Flag Warning was also put into effect for the area until 6 p.m. Wednesday night.

The Yellow Lake Fire burning in Utah’s Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Credit: InciWeb

Officials praised previously completed fuel-thinning projects throughout the forest for slowing fire progress and expect coming rain and snow on Thursday to further limit fire growth.

“Fire managers say the biggest concern is the northwest corner of the fire,” Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest officials said in the fire’s Wednesday update. “Aircraft equipped with infrared technology flew the fire last night and detected intense heat around the ‘nose’ of the fire that extends toward Iron Mine Road.”

A total of 1,219 fires have burned 90,836 acres across Utah in 2024, according to Utah Fire Info. The Yellow Lake Fire is by far the state’s largest fire of the year, followed by the Silver King Fire at 18,222 and the Deer Springs Fire at 11,766. Humans caused 686 fires, whereas 454 fires were confirmed to be naturally caused. The cause of 79 fires have yet to be determined.

Washington wildfire triggers evacuations, even after season declared ‘over’

The Squilchuck Road Fire has burned an undisclosed amount of acres and sits at 30% containment near the Washington State community of Wenatchee Heights, according to Chelan County Emergency Management.

Chelan County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation order for Wenatchee Heights throughout the West end of Connery Road to the North end of Jim Smith.

A Level 2 (Set) evacuation order was previously in place for the 3200 block of Squilchuck Road, but that was lowered to a Level 1 (Ready) evacuation order Monday morning.

Squilchuck Road Fire. Credit: Chelan County Emergency Management

The evacuations happened just two days after Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz held an “end-of-wildfire-season” press conference at Deer Park Airport, according to The Seattle Times. There, Franz said an estimated 308,000 acres burned throughout the state in 2024, more than the 151,000 in 2023 and 174,000 in 2022, but less than the 674,000 in 2021 and 842,000 in 2020. She also said firefighters kept 95% of the more than 1,400 ignitions this year under 10 acres.

“Our progress to date is truly a testament of the infrastructure investments we have made year after year and how we are fighting our fires more strategically,” said Franz, who is in the final three months of her term, as she is running for Congress.

Trump, again, threatens to withhold California wildfire aid if elected

For the second time in as many months, former President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal wildfire aid from California if he is elected for a second term.

Trump echoed the threat on Saturday during a campaign rally at Coachella Valley. The candidate, an hour into his rally, said he’d fix the state’s water issue without providing details about how he’d do it.

“We’re going to take care of your water situation, and we’ll force it down (Governor Gavin Newsom’s) throat,” Trump said. “And we’ll say, Gavin, if you don’t do it, we’re not giving any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires that you have. It’s not hard to do.”

Line Fire burning on Sept. 10 near Keller Peak. Credit: ALERTCalifornia / UC San Diego

Trump’s previous threat on Sept. 15 sparked backlash from California’s wildland firefighting force, namely from California Professional Firefighters President Brian K. Rice.

“Trump expressed that he would play with [Californians’] lives and their homes if he doesn’t get what he wants,” Rice said in a statement posted on Twitter. “He would rather watch our state burn in the name of his political games, than to send help if he were to become president again…It is a disgrace to our great nation and to every Californian that this man has a platform to threaten our livelihoods, safety, families and our state.”

The union did not share thoughts on Trump’s second threat, as they were among a gathering of hundreds of firefighters and families in Sacramento for the 2024 California Firefighters Memorial Ceremony. The names of 36 California firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2024 were added to the memorial wall, which already includes more than 1,500 names.

Denying disaster aid to California is a tradition for Trump. The then-president initially denied a California request for aid in 2020, during what would become its most disastrous wildfire season on record.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Watch our state burn’: Trump’s threat to withhold California wildfire aid angers state’s firefighting force

Statewide emergency, evacuations triggered by numerous North Dakota wildfires

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declared a statewide fire emergency as wildfires killed one person and triggered numerous evacuations.

The state’s forest service is fighting multiple fires mainly in the western half of the state, according to the National Interagency Fire Center‘s infrared map. Those fires include:

  • The Bear Den Fire, which started Saturday morning, has burned an estimated 10,000 acres near the Fort Berthold Reservation as of Sunday afternoon.
  • The Elkhorn Fire, which started Saturday evening, has burned an estimated 10,000 acres south of Watford City.
  • The Sprint Creek Fire, which started Saturday afternoon, has burned an estimated 5,000 acres south of Watford City.
Credit: North Dakota Governor’s Office

NIFC’s map indicated numerous other hotspots throughout the state Sunday afternoon, but these have not yet been named or confirmed as active wildfires.

“Several large wildfires were being fought in western North Dakota this evening including near Grassy Butte, near Johnson’s corner along Highway 73 and near Mandaree,” Burgum said late Saturday night. “Evacuation orders were issued in multiple areas and temporary shelters were opened for those displaced.”

The Williams County Sheriff’s Office reported 26-year-old Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden of South Africa died of fire-related injuries in the Ray area, according to the Bismarck Tribune. The local paper said South Africans often come to the state to work as farmhands. Another unidentified individual was taken to a local medical facility with critical injuries.

The National Weather Service’s Bismarck Office issued a Red Flag Warning, High Wind Warning, and Wind Advisory for much of the state Saturday, when the state’s biggest fires started. Fire conditions were worsened by Extreme to Moderate Drought intensity in the state’s western half, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Critical fire conditions have since subsided.

“Widespread high winds impacted the region yesterday with multiple sites seeing wind gusts above 75 mph. Luckily winds will remain light through this week,” the office tweeted Sunday.

Credit: North Dakota Governor’s Office

The North Dakota Forest Service previously deployed multiple engines and crews to the fires, along with two North Dakota National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and more than two dozen National Guard firefighters, Burgum said. Two heavy air tankers from Montana also dumped fire retardant while bulldozers and motor graders cut fire lines near the community of Mandaree.

The pause in fire-spreading weather will help firefighters get a foothold on the wildfires, according to USFS Dakota Prairie Grasslands.

“On the east side of the fire, near the Little Missouri River, the North Dakota National Guard is utilizing a helicopter to perform water drops to help contain the fire,” forest service officials said Sunday. “Local, state, and federal resources are working together performing suppression activities around the perimeter of the fire. Additionally, two hand crews are en route to the incident.”