Twin Brothers Develop Gel to Stop Wildfire Rekindling

Riverside twins Henry and Jack Grover built a sprayable hydrogel designed to keep wildfires from reigniting after they appear to be out.

Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Home Cleaning

Pale translucent gel sprayed across charred ground and dry brush on a hillside under hazy late-afternoon light. — Riverside twins Henry and Jack Grover developed a sprayable hydrogel designed to keep wildfires from reigniting after they appear to be out. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Riverside, California twins Henry and Jack Grover developed a sprayable hydrogel that prevents wildfires from reigniting. Their project was featured among the 2026 Junior Innovators Challenge finalists.

Why it matters

The project was inspired by the 2025 Palisades fire, which was started by an earlier blaze that reignited. The gel targets the rekindling problem that can turn a contained fire into a new emergency for communities in Riverside and beyond.

The final gel hydrated in 15 minutes, and the twins' sprayer can project it up to 18.3 metres. In testing, hot charcoal briquettes treated with the hydrogel took 27 minutes to relight, compared with three minutes for water-sprayed briquettes.

The players

Henry Grover

Henry Grover is a Riverside, California teenager and co-developer of the sprayable hydrogel, who has also restored and modernized a 1980s robot.

Jack Grover

Jack Grover is a Riverside, California teenager and twin brother who co-developed the sprayable wildfire hydrogel with his brother Henry.

The details

The twins soaked nine hydrogels in water, weighed them, and dried them in an oven to compare performance. They selected sodium polyacrylate as their preferred material and titled the project "Sprayable Hydrogels for Preventing the Rekindling of Wildfires."

• 2025: The Palisades fire, started by a reignited earlier blaze, inspires the project.
• 2026: The project is named among the Junior Innovators Challenge finalists.

Situation Tracker

The project responds directly to the rekindling failure exposed by the 2025 Palisades fire in California, which was started by an earlier blaze that reignited. It aims to address a hazard that can turn a contained wildfire into a new emergency.

Residents near wildfire-prone areas can follow official evacuation guidance and keep defensible space around homes. Stay alert to local warnings, as reignition risk can persist after a fire appears contained.

The takeaway

Youth-led ideas can address real wildfire hazards, but a lab result is not a field result. Watch for independent testing before assuming the gel will protect a home or neighborhood.