Lab 7: Station fire

The outbreak of a blazing fire is no unfamiliar sight in Los Angeles. Given Southern California’s brush and grass fires, such incidents are quickly ignited. But some of these fire incidents are intentional, with only 10 percent of arson fires end up in criminal charges. The Old fire destroyed nearly one thousand homes in San Bernardino County and led to six deaths. In 1993, the Malibu fire killed three people and caused $375 million in damage while the 1994 Laguna Beach fire destroyed 441 homes and caused $528 million in damage. The 2006 Esperanza fire led to the deaths of five firefighters. And most recently, from August to September of 2009, two firefighters were killed and 160,577 acres were scorched in the foothills and canyons beginning in the San Gabriel Mountains, and spreading to the Angeles National Forest.
Burning over 250 miles of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Station fire was finally contained in the evening of October 16. The fire crews relied on the moderate rainfall in the San Gabriel Mountains to alleviate the fire, in which they then hiked and contained the portion of the fire in the wilderness. The rainy weather and winter conditions at higher elevations (as demonstrated in the digital elevation model) played key roles in controlling the Station fire. Otherwise, the fire would persist for months.
Interestingly, the Station fire incident is regarded as a homicide investigation, which started adjacent to the Angeles Crest Highway (SR 2), which is about one mile above the Angeles Crest Fire Station on August 26. The reference map details the beginnings of the fire (during late August) as beginning close to a major highway, before spreading upward. As the fire spreads forth, it ascends further from the highways and homes. Though injuring 22 people, the Station fire does not have detrimental effects on properties—as in other cases of homes with high property rates (i.e. Laguna Beach, Malibu). Thus the Station fire is regarded as a forest fire, because the higher elevations of the San Gabriel Mountains (with timber retaining heat) has prolonged the effort to suppress the fire.
Despite the Station fire’s perimeters in a non-residential area, its effects impacted residential areas. As evident in the reference map—the Station fire was mainly contained in the national forest. According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, air-flow drainage overnight from the mountains brought little smoke to foothill areas of the San Gabriel Valley. Likewise, ocean breezes will move smoke northward into the mountains and out of the basin. Nevertheless, evacuation in the Glendale, La Canada, La Crescenta and Tujunga area were highly encouraged for safety.
The practical applications of mapping tools allow us to analyze the data in multifarious forms. At face value, the reference map gives us a simplistic portrait of the fire outbreaks and provides context in terms of location and highways (and thus residential or populated areas). However, the map also implicitly provides us information in regards to health hazards. For instance, because of the fire’s placement within a forest area, its containment within this area does not contribute to lethal (although bothersome and unhealthy) hazards. Likewise, the digital elevation map shows us the terrain of the fire spreading throughout the month. What are the elements of maintaining heat, or exacerbating fire? By asking such questions, we may also gain insights behind the motives and techniques of not only people who incite arsons but ways to contain the fires.

Works Cited

“LA County Enterprise GIS.” Fire Perimeter GIS Data. 2009. Los Angeles County Enterprise GIS. Accessed 23 Nov. 2009. http://gis.lacounty.gov/eGIS/?m=200908.

“Mapshare: UCLA’s Spatial Data Repository.” Los Angeles County. 2006. University of California, Los Angeles. Accessed 23 Nov. 2009. http://gis.ats.ucla.edu//Mapshare/Default.cfm.

Pojawa, Jane. “Station Fire Strikes Angeles Crest.” The Insider. 2009. http://media.www.gccinsider.com/media/storage/paper1339/news/2009/06/1 9/Campus/Station.Fire.Strikes.Angeles.Crest-3759302.shtml.

"Station Fire." InciWeb the Incident Information System. Nov. 10 2009. Accessed 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1856/.

“The National Map Seamless Server.” United States Data. 2009. United States Geological Survey. Accessed 23 Nov. 2009. http://seamless.usgs.gov/index.php

Winton, Richard. “Station fire probe yields little evidence, no suspects.” Los Angeles Times. 21 Nov. 2009. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arson21- 2009nov21,0,7372132.story.

Lab 5: Map projections

Map projections derived from an attempt to transform a 3D spherical model of the earth onto a 2D plane. Needless to say, transforming all the points of a sphere results in compromising accurate images and characteristics. The six maps depicted in this blog entry are examples of conformal, equidistant, and equal area map projections. Each projection has individual nuances and characteristics due to their distortions in area size, shape, distance, and coordinates. Nevertheless, there are practical reasons and applications for the use of each projection. For example, the mercator projection is useful for navigation due to constant angles throughout the entire map. The three different map types are all developed from a different surface shape and hold different properties. The equidistant map projections were developed from cylinder and sphere surfaces, and thus conserve distance. The equal area projections conserve accurate area size of objects being mapped. In regards to the conformal map projections, they are developed from a cylindrical surface and contain an accurate coordinate system.

Map distortions, and their inconsistent effects on distances, reflect the need to understand the significance of each type of projection. The recorded distance for each projection, between Washington, D.C., and Kabul, Afghanistan, varied greatly. The three projections (conformal, equidistant, and equal area) all have particular advantages and pitfalls. For instance, conformal maps preserve longitudinal and latitudinal gridlines, which intersect right angles, as evident in the Mercator and northpole stereographic. The Mercator projection is the most common type of projection used in mapping because it preserves the size, coordinates and shapes. Equal area maps preserve area; the whole of the equal area map has the same equivalent area as the Earth as a whole, as depicted in the Mollweide projection. Equidistant maps show true distances along certain designated lines or from the center to other points. However, the relationship between points further away from the center, or point to people, do not convey an accurate relationship.

Nevertheless, we must cognizant of how each map projection portrays yet manipulates points and coordinates. For example, although conformal maps are very good at preserving angles between gridlines, these types of maps distort the sizes of areas. Equal area maps also have disadvantages despite ability to preserve area: they do not preserve gridline angles, nor do they sustain accurate area. A disadvantage of equidistant map is that these types of maps do not offer true distances while preserving equal areas. Though these distortions occur, understanding how to create and differentiate the disadvantages and advantages of each projection allows us to optimize the functionality of each type.

Lab 6: DEMs in ArcGIS

I chose a rocky terrain in Utah--in part because Utah is geographically interesting (Park City!) and I have very close ties to Utah because my family lives there. The elevation is quite startling due to the range of mountains and peaks; at most, the elevation is over 3,500 (3,568) feet yet settles to about 1300 (1365) feet in the valley areas. The slope map indicates the prevalence of steep slopes. As evident in the aspect map, elevation is variant in all directions and areas due to the rocky mountainous terrain of Utah.

Here are the decimal degrees: Bottom: 38.398 | Top: 54.583 | Left: -110.434 | Right: -111.554

Lab 4: ArcGIS

The ArcGIS is a tool with a myriad of possibilities and pitfalls. In spite of the uncertainty and frustration garnered during my experience, the benefits were manifold. If classroom lecture was the time for theories to be introduced, then surely our lab—namely, our experience with ArcGIS—is praxis. The complex nature of ArcGIS allows users to utilize data effectively but may still cause confusion for new users (including myself!).

The program is truly effective in its ability to analyze spatial relationships between objects in the context of their environment. Such analysis can be integral in policymaking, social changes, and the way people interpret the world they live in. Our maps of schools and the noise contour emitted by airports provide a visual, accessible data. Users are able to interpret the data—and provide developers and engineers with valuable information in regards to school construction, sound mitigations, health hazards and other such decisions based on the data.

Within my microanalysis of ArcGIS, the program’s details can cause setbacks to the user’s performance. Its tremendous amount of detail can be a tedious process for new users (as well as experienced users) alike. By not being attentive, users may accidentally overlook an aspect when constructing a chart and be forced to reevaluate his or her input.

Nevertheless, despite the advantages and abilities of ArcGIS, the program has pitfalls. Maps are constructed with given data; any error in the process of data collection can offset the ability of the ArcGIS map to be an accurate representation of reality. Within the software itself, ArcGIS is very useful in conveying details through tables and data groups. The many tools available in ArcGIS allows users to be effective in constructing the maps and formulas for charts, graphs, and tables. Unlike neogeography, ArcGIS caters toward computer-savvy, programming types. With its steep learning curve and time consumption, ArcGIS does not necessarily allow its users to create quick and accessible maps, based off of their own experiences.