L.A. Wildfires
Fighting Fire With Jet Engines
Published
Wildfires continue to rampage across L.A. County … but now, there’s a new one-of-a-kind piece of technology created to extinguish dangerous flames with opposing force.
Steve Wolf, a former film special effects coordinator and founder of Team Wildfire, tells TMZ … he and his team have developed a jet engine-powered vehicle designed to fight wildfires, and it’s now ready to be deployed.
Dubbed “The StormCell,” the unique machine is built to push back against the heavy winds that actively push the spread of wildfires … by using powerful jet engines to counterattack with even higher force wind.
The StormCell can propel air up to 300 miles per hour … while deploying large amounts of suppressant chemicals to help conquer the flames. The jet engines are mounted to an off-road vehicle that can easily weave through narrow areas, unlike a fire truck.
TMZ.com
Wolf says his truck costs a whopping $150K to make. A few years ago he came on “TMZ Live” and showed us the prototype of the groundbreaking vehicle … and since then he’s been fundraising to make the official version.
Steve built The StormCell with a team of other special effects engineers, all of whom work on major feature films. They started building on Tuesday and are ready to roll it out today.
Wolf says he’s in contact with L.A.’s incident management team and firefighting community about where the powerful machine can best be used. He anticipates it will help protect evacuation routes so citizens can safely escape.
The invention comes as firefighters battle huge blazes throughout the L.A. area, some of which have yet to be fully contained.