Helicopters dropped 16 thousand flaming ping pong balls near Montana’s Golden Pan fire. The goal was to contain the blaze before it could expand further.
Innovative firefighting methods play a critical role in saving lives and property.
Recently, helicopters dropped 16 thousand flaming ping pong balls near Montana’s Golden Pan fire.
The goal was to contain the blaze before it could expand into the wilderness west of the city of Darby.
The ping pong ball drop method is widely used in the US as a means of starting fires in specific locations to either clear debris or keep wildfires from spreading.
Filled with a variety of chemicals that cause the container to ignite upon impact, the balls completely disintegrate upon burning and don’t create a need for extensive post clean-up.
The method is favored because of the precision of its delivery and the speed with which the chemicals burn.
A ping pong ball drop is only one of the methods being used to keep the Golden Pan fire, one of many in the area, from progressing further.
Firefighting officials said they’re particularly concerned about the future size and path of the flames as high winds and dry lightning are both in the forecast.
