Universidad de Talca: Technological solution is created to fight forest fires

16/02/2015

Every year, due to high temperatures, a number of forest fires develop that affect not only the forest industry, but also the whole of agriculture and the population in general. This is not to mention how damaging to the environment these fires are from the point of view of pollution and deforestation.

When these disasters occur, helicopters and tankers must carry the water for several kilometers to fight the fire. As there are no rivers or lakes everywhere, many times the water transfer may take longer than necessary to extinguish and prevent the spread of fires.

"If all the forestry or agricultural companies had these systems in certain places it would mean that we would have water reserves to fight the fires, that implies that the helicopter would have a radius of supply much less than if it goes to a river or lake", Explains Roberto Pizarro, researcher in charge of the project.

This system, besides helping to fight fires could be very useful for rural areas with supply problems.

«We have a big problem in Chile, which is that millions are being spent on water trucks to take water to rural areas, therefore the same investment of one year in water tanks can be done for one or two years in total and we can solve much this problem of the rural sectors", Says Pizarro, stressing that the use of this resource is free, therefore it is not subject to water rights or legal frameworks that restrict its use.

Source: Ecoticias.cl