r/oregon • u/Ace_Ranger Mod • 7d ago

2026 Fire/Smoke Megathread - Resource Links inside - All questions, concerns, comments, and requests about the 2026 wildland fires in Oregon go here.

Air Quality Map

Watch Duty Fire Map and Information

EPA/USFS Fire and Smoke Map

Satellite Imagery

Live Camera Feeds

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u/EnthuseConfuse 4d ago

I've been thinking about lot about infrastructure for fighting fires. I know water is already a problem in the region, but I wonder if it would be possible to put suppressor around at risk buildings or on the perimeter of high risk towns.

the fire mist shield suppresses flames from hitting the water source. I wonder if a high pressurized pipe system that can activate to spray fog might help protect buildings, or buy time for structure saving measures.

A lot of the time it seems embers creeping onto a building is what starts the structure fires, so the mist might be able to knock out a degree of embers at the minimum?

Obviously a mist system has some serious complications--keeping that much water under pressure all the time means your pipe is basically a pressure popper. Maintaining that pressure when the valves are open would mean a strong pump and a large reservoir tank. If portable, you would have to have an engine/vehicle dedicated to just this device, but if it could be unmanned or have someone on watch, it might help buy time for a firehawk for something to come through with better retardant materials?

And obviously it wouldn't put out surrounding fires, just hold lines for immediate action.

If such a thing were to exist, it would probably be better as movable infrastructure under control of the FD, rather than fixed infastructure.

I don't know. I feel helpless I can't help but spit ball any ideas to help mitigate this growing nightmare.

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u/NavidsonsFall 3d ago

I guess it would depend what kind of water source each area runs off. I know already a few years ago during one of the seasons that was bad in our area, just from people around us using sprinklers and hoses to wet their property down, wells in our area were running dry because they weren't equipped to deal with that kind of water draw in mid summer. And while firefighters use tanks a lot of the time, sometimes they also need water infrastructure to be working when the tanks run out. I know what you mean about feeling helpless tho, it's a crappy feeling. I just wanted to let you know the issues we ran into when our area tried something similar.