At more than 140,000 acres, the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon’s north rim is the largest wildfire in the United States and one of the largest in Arizona’s history. Coverage of the blaze has produced stunning videos and images of airplanes dropping red or pink fire retardant from the sky to stop the flames from spreading. Those images are certainly dramatic, but they should also give us pause.
When it comes to the fire retardant dropped by those planes, no one knows the exact chemical mixture because it is a trade secret known only to the company responsible for its production. What independent research has revealed, however, is troubling. Many fire retardants contain chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and immune suppression. The National Park Service acknowledges this, and it has been confirmed by independent researchers.
The danger may start in the air, but it doesn’t end there. At the bottom of the Grand Canyon lies the Colorado River, a lifeline that provides drinking water to more than 40 million people across seven states, including tribal nations and major cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Inevitably, chemicals from retardant drops make their way into that river, threatening human health as well as fish and wildlife and creating the potential for long-term problems that far outlast the wildfire itself.
Fire retardants also endanger the very people we rely on to fight wildfires. When people see images of those dramatic aerial drops, it’s easy to forget that there are firefighters down on the ground working on the front lines. They may be obscured by the smoke and out of the frame of the photos, but the chemicals are landing on their heads.
Firefighters frequently remain coated in the chemicals head to toe for days, itchy at night, sleeping in the woods in shifts on bedrolls until they can get to a shower two or three days later. It is no coincidence then, that the leading cause of death among firefighters is not burns or smoke inhalation but occupational cancer. Toxic exposures, from chemical fire retardants, which are known to contain a number of carcinogenic compounds, often play a major role.
Some may argue that such risks are unavoidable in the face of fast-moving wildfires and that desperate times created by out-of-control wildfires call for desperate measures. But there is another firefighting alternative which should be given greater consideration: water.
Federal and State government agencies already use aircraft that dump water instead of chemicals. In fact, water is often considered more efficient for aerial firefighting and is safer for the public and firefighters alike. In the case of the Dragon Bravo fire, both types of airplanes have been involved in the fight, but state and local officials should be prioritizing the planes that drop water.
The advantages are clear. Unlike chemical retardants, water does not leave behind a persistent pollutant or require costly environmental cleanup efforts after the fire is contained. It can be sourced locally from lakes, rivers, or even temporary reservoirs set up near the fire line, dramatically reducing turnaround times for each drop. That speed matters in fast-moving wildfires, where minutes can make the difference between containment and catastrophe. By contrast, the airports that support chemical suppressant aircraft are often farther away than the closest water source and the planes take a longer time to refill at a cost of several dollars per gallon. Worse still, the firefighters are the ones mixing all those chemicals with water to fill up the planes, which carries its own health risks.
This is the bottom line: when aerial suppression is needed, water should be the first choice. It is safer for firefighters, healthier for communities, and better for the environment. Arizona lawmakers and the U.S. Forest Service should take note. Fighting fire from the air doesn’t require the introduction of chemicals to our skies and rivers, it simply requires using the oldest, simplest tool we have – water.
John Allard is the former Deputy Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF)
