VOA慢速英语2021--加州用“铝毯”保护房屋、树木免受野火侵害

Aluminum¹ Wrap Used to Protect California Homes, Trees from Wildfires

American Martin Diky says he panicked recently when a huge wildfire began racing² down a hill toward his home in Northern California.

He did some quick research to learn how how he might protect his $700,000 mountain home near Lake Tahoe. He chose to cover his house with a product called fire wrap. Fire wrap is made with the soft metal called aluminum. The special aluminum covers withstand very high heat for short periods of time.

Diky bought $6,000 worth of fire wrap from a California-based company called Firezat Inc. That was enough to cover his 130-square-meter home on the edge of the small California community of Meyers.

The fire wrap is very costly³, Diky said, "and you'd feel stupid if they stopped the fire before it got close," he added. "But I'm really glad we did it."

Fire wrap is not widely used by homeowners in America. Along with the high cost, it is difficult to put in place. But the material has saved properties, including small historic⁴ houses, or cabins, owned by the U.S. government.

It can even be used to protect the living. This week, firefighters in California's Sequoia⁵ National Park covered the base of the world's largest tree with the aluminum. The tree, known as The General Sherman, is thousands of years old and stands in the park's Giant Forest area.

Protective aluminum wrapping can deflect⁶ temperatures as high as 550 degrees Celsius⁷. Any structure underneath⁸ the wrap stays cooler. This helps prevent fire-linked explosions. It also keeps small, pieces of burning material, or embers, from entering small openings in buildings.

Firezat's biggest customer is the U.S. government. The Forest Service and the National Park Service are responsible for about 95 percent of the company's sales.

Dan Hirning is Firezat's president. He estimates the Forest Service has wrapped 600 to 700 buildings, bridges, other structures and trees on its sites just this year.

Firefighters on social media have compared the shiny, silver-colored wraps to a "big baked potato." One firefighter who helped cover some structures said it felt like he was wrapping Christmas gifts.

Fumiaki Takahashi is an engineering professor at Ohio's Case Western Reserve University. In 2019, he published a report about the effectiveness of wraps used for wildfire protection. He said they "demonstrated both remarkable⁹ performance and technical limitations."

The wrapping is most effective if a wildfire moves quickly beyond the structure, he said. It is less effective in areas with many houses.

The wraps "show promise in being effective," he said. But additional research is needed to develop more effective and lightweight versions, Takahashi said in an email to The Associated Press. He said he would not suggest the products for use by everyone because wrapping correctly is still a complex process. But, once a dependable wrapping method is in place, he said, he would call for wider public use.

Firezat Inc. sells its fire wrap rolls for $700 each. They are 1.5 meters wide by 61 meters long. Getting a structure wrapped usually costs thousands of dollars for labor¹⁰.

Hirning said most individual buyers he has had over the years are looking to protect, in his words, "really expensive homes." They include homeowners in Malibu, California, who are asked to sign an agreement that the Forest Service is not responsible for protecting their property in some cases.

As for sales increasing as a result of recent wildfires, Hirning said that it is an extremely seasonable business. Once it starts raining and snowing, he says he often does not sell anything for nine straight months.

That could change, however, as climate change leads to more extreme and destructive¹¹ weather and a longer wildfire season.

Words in This Story

panic - v. to be overcome with extreme fear : to be affected¹² by panic

withstand - v. to not be harmed or affected by (something)

deflect - v. to cause (something that is moving) to change direction

customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

remarkable - adj. unusual or surprising : likely to be noticed

expensive - adj. costing a lot of money

1 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

5 sequoia   

n.红杉

参考例句：

• The sequoia national forest is at the southern end of the sierra nevada range.红杉国家公园位于内华达山脉南端尽头处。
• The photo shows the enormous general Sherman tree in California's sequoia national park.照片显示的是加利福尼亚州红杉国家公园内巨大的谢尔曼将军树。

6 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

7 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

8 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 destructive   

adj.破坏（性）的，毁灭（性）的

参考例句：

• In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
• It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。