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.
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