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Fighting fire with fertilizer:
An air tanker drops fire retardant at the edge of a burning forest. The
retardant used to fight wildfires is a liquid that contains phosphate
fertilizer and iron oxide. The fertilizer helps to slow the progress of
the fire, which gives the ground support crews more time to build fire
lines. It also helps new vegetation grow in areas that have been burned.
Iron oxide gives the liquid its reddish color and helps identify where
the retardant has landed.
Image Courtesy of NEWS4,
Colorado's News Channel