When you think of fire sprinklers being installed, what do you think of? Chances are you think of sprinklers inside the home or inside a building. That makes sense. That’s typically what we think about when we think of fire suppression. Perhaps it’s because of all the fire alarms we’d see growing up – little things attached to the ceilings that would often need batteries and, in the case of fire sprinklers specifically, water spouts that would go off when smoke would appear. You don’t normally associate this fire suppression technology with the outdoors. You should though. Just look at what’s going on at Olympic National Park, as discussed in a KOMO News article.
Nancy Barrick writes, “In yet another sign of this year’s unusually dry, hot summer – a giant sprinkler system has been set up for the Olympic rain forest. Yes, you read that right – a sprinkler system outside! Fire officials, desperate to combat a wildfire that has been burning for weeks in a remote, rugged area of Olympic National Park, decided to try out something more than water drops from helicopters.”
There you have it, almost like something out of a Sci-Fi novel – giant fire sprinkler systems dedicated to battling wildfires. Some call it desperation, but we like to call it smart. More often than not, wildfires are uncontrollable beasts and since the only real weapon to use against them, especially in remote areas, are water drops from helicopters, fire officials thought why not.
The hope is that the sprinkler system will boost humidity. We will keep you updated on the situation at Olympic National Park.
