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Why Water and Retardant Drops Don’t Put Out Wildfires: Gold Mountain Fire Officials Explain Aerial Firefighting Limits
Description: Gold Mountain Fire officials explain why aircraft alone cannot extinguish wildfires, how water and retardant drops support ground crews, and why terrain and timber fuels limit effectiveness.
Why don't water and retardant drops put the fire out?
Despite what many believe, aircraft do not put out wildfires. Aerial assets work in conjunction with ground crews in suppression efforts by cooling areas to slow the progression of fire while ground crews work to build or strengthen firelines. Simply dropping retardant or water on a wildfire does not suppress it.
The fuel type in this fire is mainly timber. In this fuel type, water and retardant may not even reach the ground to cool fire. Additionally, when water is dropped above an active wildfire, the heat from the fire can cause quick evaporation or even turn the water to steam.
A common misperception is that retardant can put a fire out when in reality, retardant only causes the fuel, or vegetation, to burn less easily, which would allow firefighters to remove vegetation and create fireline.
Due to rough and steep terrain, there are several areas of this fire where it is not safe to put firefighters, so using water or retardant drops in those areas would not be a successful tactic.
On the #GoldMountainFire, an example of where water and retardant drops have been successful in conjunction with ground resources is on the west side of the fire in the Highway 550 corridor.
Photo: July 2, 2026 retardant drop
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