[n2d4]

Water is not a fire retardant. Water can extinguish fire, but you can't apply water on a forest to prevent a fire from spreading there in the first place.

Your last paragraph seems to agree with parent? We should know what's inside, but it might still be the best solution.

[amarant]

Yeah you can! Wet forest does not burn as well as dry forest!

Water is absolutely a fire retardant, however it may not be quite as effective as the red stuff from the article.

[ted_dunning]

More precisely, not nearly as effective. The fire retardant is effective hours or days after being applied. Water would have long since evaporated and had almost no effect. Even on very short timescales, the retardant is still much more effective than water alone.