tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post4185009291521637405..comments2024-03-28T16:03:02.583-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: Bombing a forest fire?Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-83318141963616209782018-07-29T14:09:15.813-05:002018-07-29T14:09:15.813-05:00Probably the biggest problem in the US would be th...Probably the biggest problem in the US would be the environmental paperwork. Might kill Bambi, or damage a watercourse. <br /><br />True story, I was working at Hanford when they had a range fire. Parts of the old WWII Hanford site have been designated as a nature preserve. The firefighters couldn't drive trucks on the designated areas and were forced to use water bombers, or let it burn.Nuke Road Warriorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01122662466990452477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-18027081675923233282018-07-29T13:29:00.278-05:002018-07-29T13:29:00.278-05:00The problem with conventional weaponry, like this ...The problem with conventional weaponry, like this GBU-12 is that it only suppresses the fire within a relatively small blast radius. It had an effect on fires up to 150 meters from the impact point, so at most a 300m swath could be suppressed. The effective radius is much smaller. For fires with natural chokepoints, such as the mouth of a canyon, that might be sufficient. A fire with a broad front can merely burn around.<br /><br />The other drawback is cost: a GBU-12 runs about $20K; the unguided iron bomb it was derived from runs $2K.<br /><br />PS - The BLU-118/B thermobaric bomb has been mentioned. Unfortunately, it has the side effect of <i>setting</i> fires in some circumstances. It superheats and consumes oxygen at the impact point, but then the superheated gases expand outward, and at sufficient distance, start fires.sysadmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09208769396923431693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-11921067502807083322018-07-28T12:42:28.127-05:002018-07-28T12:42:28.127-05:00Makes sense. Good use of unconventional technique...Makes sense. Good use of unconventional techniques.<br /><br />Almost as cool as using bombers to divert lava flows.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-37642454830067908522018-07-28T12:09:24.059-05:002018-07-28T12:09:24.059-05:00I imagine using a conventional bomb to suppress a ...I imagine using a conventional bomb to suppress a wildfire, while an unconventional technique, could be quite effective. I suspect, however, that its process is addressed to another of the legs of the fire triad (fuel, oxygen, heat). If the GBU-12 were a version of a fuel-air explosive, it would indeed consume oxygen from the air in the environment thus reducing the availability of same to the fire. A GBU-12; however, uses a high explosive which contains its own oxidizer, thus it needs no oxygen from its surroundings to work. It will, though, be quite effective at scattering the fuel sources available to sustain combustion.Bob Gibsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01605741445499179146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-68620455136445191732018-07-28T11:57:56.262-05:002018-07-28T11:57:56.262-05:00IIRC an accepted way to extinguish an oil well fir...IIRC an accepted way to extinguish an oil well fire is to maneuver an explosive charge close to the well head, see the movie <i>Hellfighters</i>. <br /><br />Using a bomb to blow out the fire and remove fuel from the area at the same time isn't that outlandish.Rick Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748076795783834112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-13030576950280153942018-07-28T11:54:13.144-05:002018-07-28T11:54:13.144-05:00Sounds similar to the idea of using explosives to ...Sounds similar to the idea of using explosives to put out oil well fires, as used by Red Adair.D.A. Brockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944661115344317749noreply@blogger.com