Are the planes and helicopters using ocean water to extinguish the fires along the coast in California?
If so, won’t the salt make it difficult for plants to grow in those areas in the future?
Not likely. There won’t be nearly enough salt deposited from the limited application of salt water in a couple of air drops. A few rains will almost certainly dilute the salt to the point of being a non-issue.
According to this Australian PDF, Air Operations Manager, salt water is a problem for the aircraft:
Many aircraft use a mixture of fresh water, Ammonium sulfate/phosphate (up to 240 mM if I’m reading this patent correctly), and guar gum to put out fires.
Ammonium sulfate/phosphate isn’t nearly as corrosive as NaCl, plus it’s a good fertilizer.
What’s being dropped will depend on what sort of aircraft is doing the dropping. Fixed wing aircraft will generally drop slurry, and will be reloaded at a tanker base. Rotor wing aircraft generally drop plain water, which can be obtained from rivers, lakes, or specialized tanks.
St. Urho
wildland firefighter