SAN DIEGO — The devastating LA Wildfires killed 29 people and damaged more than 16,000 structures. With Southern California being a prime location for wildfires, one local city is using a new technology to help mitigate the danger.

Officials in San Diego are using a new water-based fire retardant called Citrotech. Firefighters have sprayed more than 40 fire prone areas on city-owned land that are known for being spots that see homeless encampments, and other activities that could spark a fire.

“We know we have to have a heightened reaction to preserving and making sure our residents are safe,” said Franklin Coopersmith, who is the deputy director of the Environmental Services Department with the City of San Diego. “Especially these areas where there’s an encampment just a couple hundred feet from a home with dry brush.”

Citrotech lasts up to six months without heavy rainfall. After the most recent storm to hit the area, firefighters will go back and spray the retardant for maintenance. Some areas that officials are being pro-active with are near several homes. 

Jay Smith lives on a block just above a hill that firefighters have sprayed Citrotech. He’s been worried about homeless encampments where unhoused people create fires to stay warm or cook food. Smith has looked at ways to protect his property in case a bigger fire breaks out. 

“Definitely if it’s something that’s going to stop fires and save the houses, definitely,” Smith said in support of the city’s initiative. “We have a backhouse behind this [home,] and my option was to put sprinklers on top of the house.”

The City of San Diego says Citrotech has undergone rigorous environmental testing and is safe to use. Taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for the product because it was paid for with a roughly $367,000 grant through a river conservancy program. 

Officials want to be pro-active in San Diego after seeing how the LA Wildfires ripped through parts of the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Pasadena and Altadena. 

“There’s a lot more preventative action before we even have an emergency, and this helps us,” said San Diego Fire Deputy Chief Tony Tosca. “It gives us the ability to get below those lines. It gives us the time to save homes and property, so we are a lot more pro-active in collaboration with our communities, fire departments and homeowners. It’s a wake-up call. We need to think about these things.”

Coopersmith says using Citrotech helps provide local officials with another line of defense in case a fire were to break out in the city.

“Let’s put another barrier in these locations in the event fire does breakout,” Coopersmith said. “We have another protection in there, and hopefully that’ll give enough time for fire to come down. Either get it out before it turns into something, or no fire at all.”