The
maps above show the fire extent of the 2009 Los Angeles county fires. Each of
the maps includes the fire extent of the 2009 LA County fires which endangered
the surrounding communities. Included on some of the maps are the hospitals and
freeways in LA County. These factors are included because they play important
roles during and the aftermath of fires.
In the first map, the digital elevation model is included
with the locations of hospitals and freeways in the county of Los Angeles. The orange region represents the largest extent of the fires in
2009. The DEM is an important feature in that it represents the elevation of
the areas that were affected by the fire and therefore provides an insight on what type of
land was affected. According to the digital elevation model, the fires occurred
along a decreasing elevation, presumably down the side of a mountain range or
some other decreasing elevation feature. The fires occurred mostly in the
Angeles National Forest that threatened homes from Acton to Altadena (LA
Times). The Fire department was just able to prevent the fires spreading past
the freeways in the southern part of the county. However, the freeways were still losed due to the proximity of the fire. This is very significant
because freeways are a major routes out of an area, and if people need to
evacuate, freeways are one of the most easily accessible and fastest ways to
depart. Hospitals were also protected and therefore were able to continue
operating and serving their communities in addition to treating any patients
from the fires.
The second map is simpler and therefore is able to be
analyzed quicker and easier. Without the digital elevation model, the fire
extent, hospital, and freeways are even more emphasized. The relationship
between the hospitals, freeways and the fires are clearer without the
background detail of the scale of elevation. The area of the fire (in orange)
indicates how close the fire was to crossing the freeway and how it was already
cutting off some modes of transportation for the people escaping the fires. As
of August 31, 2009, there were estimated to be eighteen houses burned down in
the Tujunga Canyon and two fire fighters who died in an accident due to these
fires (Earth Observatory).
The
last map indicates the growth of the wild fires each day from the beginning on
August 29, 2009 to when it reached its maximum extent on September 1, 2009.
August 29th fires, as indicated by the pink outline, shows the fires
starting in two different locations and then spreading over the next four days.
Between August 30th and the 31st, the fires doubled in
size to 85,760 acres, as indicated by the green and blue outlines (LA Times, Earth
Observatory). According to the Los Angeles Times, the fire was only 5%
contained as of the morning of August 31st. The last outline indicates the maximum fire extent reached by the 2009 Station Fires.
The 2009 fires caused a great amount of scrutiny to be given to the US
Forest Service and many people questioned their efforts in doing everything possible
to prevent the wild fires. This included clearing extra brush and dead plants that would be easy fuel for a fire. However, according to Richard Halsey, director of
the California Chaparral Institute, “‘The Station Fire is not the fault of
federal land managers, firefighters, or environmental laws’...‘Huge wildfires
will occur in Southern California regardless of how the government ‘manages’
its lands…they are an inevitable part of life here’” (California Chaparral
Institute). This does not diminish the effects the fires had on the surrounding
community. The fire threatened more than 12,500 buildings, and over 6,000 homes
were given mandatory evacuation statements from the Fire department (LA Times). These maps
are an illustration of the spread of the fire and its relations to common
public services, such as roads and hospitals.
Bibliography
"Fires
in Los Angeles County." NASA Earth Observatory. NASA Earth Observatory.
Web. 8 Dec 2012.
<http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=40011>.
Molina,
Genaro . "L.A. County fire doubles in size; more homes destroyed; Mt.
Wilson threatened [Updated]." Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles] August 31,
2009, n. pag. Web. 8 Dec. 2012.
<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/la-county-fire-doubles-in-size-more-homes-list-mt-wilson-threatened.html>.
"Station
Fire Perimeters – September 1st morning – AS IS." Los Angeles County
Enterprise GIS Geospatial technology for the citizens of Los Angeles County
(2012): n.pag. Los Angeles County Enterprise GIS. Web. 8 Dec 2012.
<http://egis3.lacounty.gov/eGIS/>.
Sullivan,
Danny. "California Wildfires: August & September 2009 Edition." SearchEngineLand.
September 01 2009. Web. 8 Dec 2012.
<http://searchengineland.com/california-wildfires-august-2009-edition-24126>.
"The 2009 Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest."
CALIFORNIA CHAPARRAL INSTITUTE. California Chaparral Institute, September 04
2009. Web. 8 Dec 2012. <http://www.californiachaparral.com/2009fireinlacounty.html>
