I made the mistake of looking at the comments section of a recent article posted over on our facebook page. This person asked why cloud seeding isn’t used to put out wildfires. So, let’s talk about it!
First, cloud seeding only works when there are already clouds in the sky with moisture to coax into rain. You can't create clouds out of thin air, and during wildfire season, especially in places like ours, those rain‑bearing clouds are usually nowhere to be found.
Even when clouds do exist, seeding them may only produce a small increase in rain — studies show the boost is often just a few percent, certainly not enough to douse fires.
Plus, wildfire smoke itself is filled with particles that act as natural “seeds,” so adding more isn’t the problem — it’s that you simply lack the moisture.
Finally, it’s worth noting that flying planes to seed clouds during active fires is also dangerous for crews, and the risk doesn’t outweigh the minimal potential benefit.
In short: cloud seeding isn’t a magic fire extinguisher — it’s limited by weather, often ineffective, and can be risky to do under fire conditions.
