
Bruce McElmurray, writing for motherearthnews.com, was looking for a way to keep his deck safe in the event of a forest fire. The deck was wooden and thus very flammable, which meant that if an ember landed on it, there was a good chance it would ignite, possibly burning the rest of the house down with it. He had considered sprinkler systems to keep the deck moist in the event of a nearby forest fire, but was worried they would run his well dry after hours or days of continuous use.
