Lab 7

The 2009 Station Fire in Los Angeles County started August 26, 2009 at 3:30 pm one mile above the Angeles Crest Fire Station. The forest service expected the fire to be extinguished by day's end but as it turns out the Station Fire would be one of the worst modern wildfire seen in LA County destroying over 160,000 acres of chaparral and park land. Estimates after the fire conclude that wind was not a major factor in sustaining the fire and the onset was most likely due to arson. The fire broke out from the surrounding station area and arched upwards away from the populated regions pushed on by years of unburned chaparral. Conflicting reports on the fault with the fire's magnitude lie with the response time of the U.S. forest service though the environment of the region plays a large factor in the argument.

The Station Fire area located in the Angeles National Forest prior to the 2009 fire itself had been an area relatively free of fire burns during the past decade. Reports show that some areas have no recorded fire history at all. The boundary of the fire started in the extent: North 34.271458 dd, West -118.211187 dd, East -118.147198 dd, South 34.224369 dd (Decimal Degrees). Expanding to the maximum boundary as of September, 02 2009 with the extent of: North 34.438076 dd, West -118.343007 dd, East -117.972899 dd, South 34.210651 dd (Decimal Degrees). The Angeles National Forest borders the incorporated areas of Los Angeles County including the moderate to high income communities of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, and Alta Dena. Residential zoning is relatively dense with numerous schools and institutions that were within significant impact of the Station Fire.

Using the provided fire boundary data, shape data off the LA County GIS/UCLA GIS databases and DEM off the USGS Seamless database, the impact of schools and institutions along with significant ecological areas (SEA) can be mapped. Multiple schools and institutions were in significant proximity to the fire at the final extent. Not only are the institutions itself in danger but the schools represent an area of population primarily residential in a suburban setting. According to the institution data one school "Gateway School" falls within the burn area at the largest extent. Multiple searches do not report a school being burned, and the building may have been classified as a commercial or outbuilding. Looking at the overlapped hillshade DEM the boundaries of the Station Fire lie within a area of significant altitude change and multiple sloped regions filled with thick chaparral. More than wind as a factor which was described multiple times as being relatively calm in the days of the fire, the environment played a larger role with the terrain and vegetation of the local area.

The boundaries of the Station Fire do not encompass any significant ecological areas the closest being Santa Clara River and the region around Tujunga Valley and the Hansen Dam. The former being separated from the Angeles National Forest by roads and significant urban developments. What is lost is the ecological areas, many unburned for decades, within the Angeles National Forest which are deemed not significant by the county. The debate comes in regarding the magnitude of the Station Fire mainly blamed on the Forest Service for underestimating the fire and cutting back on airdrops and manpower the second day in potentially harming progress. To counter public opinion the Forest Service said that nothing significant could have prevented the spread of the fire when considering the ecological environment and terrain. The area composes of mainly chaparral with no underbrush that could have been cleared, like in forests, to prevent a fire. As shown in the maps significant urban development have built up near this fire-prone ecology which has not been burned for many years.

The combination of a rugged sloping terrain preventing access to firefighters, unburned chaparral along with significant flammable non-native weeds, and built up development close to the Angeles National Forest, created the situation for a fire that burned out of control. The region itself does not compose of any Significant Ecological Areas and may have been overlooked by the Forest Service in fire prevention. On the flip side evacuation orders for residents in the vicinity were issued quickly and school closures affected not only those within range but throughout the county due to the declining air quality. The combined efforts of the firefighters with air-drops manage to contain the fire at its maximum boundaries as shown on the map without encroaching on regions at the perimeter of the Angeles National Forest.

Bibliography

Pringle, Paul. "Station Fire's Strength Was Miscalculated." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 27 Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/27/local/me-fire27/3>.

Pringle, Paul. "Aerial Expert's Report on L.A. County's Biggest Wildfire Flies in the Face of Official Review." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 05 July 2010. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/05/local/la-me-station-fire-20100705>.

"Misconceptions about the Station Fire Corrected." California Chaparral Institute. 04 Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://www.californiachaparral.org/2009fireinlacounty.html>.

Sahagun, Louis. "Angeles National Forest Fire Takes Toll on Wildlife | Greenspace | Los Angeles Times." Greenspace. Los Angeles Times, 01 Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/09/fire-environment.html>.

"Station Fire Update Sept. 27, 2009." Station Fire News Release. InciWeb the Incident Information System, 26 Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9640/>.

Lab 6

The Digital Elevation Model defines the top region of Monterey County, California including Monterey Bay and the cities of Salinas and Monterey. The region sits on the coast and consists of a valley where U.S. Route 101 runs through. The DEM was attained through the USGS National Map. The DEM's extent using decimal degrees is as detailed: 36.7438888881 North, -122.048611111 West, -121.250833333 East, 36.4197222215 South. The spatial reference is taken from the Geographic Coordinate System of North America 1983. The region is particularly interesting due to the valley which opens at the south end of Monterey Bay. The population in the region are mostly located near the ocean and in the valley ignoring the coastal ranges.

3D Image

Lab 5

In ArcGIS and Geography map projections are an important key in revealing the necessary information due to spatial limitations of representing a 3D Earth on a 2D plane. The significance of map projections is in the ability for one projection to preserve one or more geographic properties while at the same time distorting widely the other properties. When used in combination map projection provides a wealth of data that is accurately represented. The limitation of map projections brings both perils and potentials in its usability and the information it provides.

Conformal map projections preserve the angles or directions on the map but distorts true distance. In conformal maps, large objects are widely distorted as the distance increases from the equator this is why maps that utilize the conformal projection often are seen as distorting the size of Greenland in which the continent of Africa which appears smaller is on magnitude many times larger. The usefulness of Conformal and specifically Mercator projections is the ability to represent lines of distances accurately and therefore is useful in nautical maps. The Miller Cylindrical map is a modification of a conformal projection where the whole earth is presented as rectangular frames. The distortion exaggerations seen with the Conformal Mercator maps is decreased as with its usefulness in navigation.

Equidistant projections preserve distance on a standard line but distorts both the shape and direction of the map. Equidistant Conic maps utilizes two reference parallels to minimize distortion from 3D globe to a 2D plane. The distortion increases away from the standard parallels, useful for depicting the middle latitudes. Sinusoidal projection both the area and distance along the parallels are preserved but the shape and direction are greatly distorted. Equal Area projections depict the area and angle shape to true form. For example in Mollweide and Cylindrical Equal Area the importance of area representation takes form in favor of angle and shapes. The equator is represented as a straight horizontal line and in both maps the parallels start to compress near the poles. Equal area projections are generally used in map depictions of the world due to its preservation of area.

The potentials that map projection provides is the ability to depict certain geographic properties of the Earth accurately on a 2D plane. With this ability it is possible to fit 3D globes in the form of a paper map. Present day manipulations include the ability to overlay several maps on top of each other either in ArcGIS or through paper formats. The perils of map projections includes the limitation on preserving the shape of the map and attaining accurate properties. Also with the advent of ArcGIS and other mapping software the need for a pure 2D planar map has decreased as the ability to truly represent a 3D globe has become common as seen with the Google Earth Software. Map projections is more importantly still relevant in geography and society today as many industries rely on a specific projection that is common and people still see 2D representation of maps and the Earth as the default method for viewing.

Lab 4

My experience with ArcGIS 9.3 and the ArcMap specific tool include initial impressions of both positive and negative aspects to GIS in general. My first run through the ArcMap program I noticed and was glad that the interface retains a classic menu composition that is easy to follow unlike newer versions of other GUI-based software applications like AutoCAD and Revit Architecture. Another early positive direction of the ArcMap software is with the data view and layout view options. At first it was confusing switching between the two layouts but as more data is incorporated into the layouts it becomes easy to understand the necessity for ways to organize the layout and data together in a coherent manner. At this point the barrier to entry seems particular high with GIS-type programs not because of the pure technical difficulty but because of the feeling of a lack of direction if one were to operate the program by themselves as opposed to other design-related programs.

On the other hand ArcGIS and GIS programs in general contain unique features in incorporating data including the ability to manage data and features with ArcCatalog. The ability to add, join, and create attribute tables inside the program is simple in allowing alternate representations of data in maps. What I found intriguing and unexpected in ArcMap is the ability to hand draw and set new features similar to the way AutoCAD handles drawing lines through offsets, parallels, and angles. This is positive in allowing more flexibility on the user-end instead of focusing on pure data. The ability to also extend your data to other layouts and create dynamic tables is a positive implementation for the need of rapidly changing data well-suited for software GIS.

A few persistent issues I have with the ArcMap tool is with the Zoom In/Out and Fixed Zoom tools. Several times the command would operate beyond what is asked when clicked or would bug-out in general leading to the layout map being lost. Through careful consideration the zoom tool can be worked around. Other issues include the Back and Forward button tool which would not register every action performed as a step but only with ones deemed appropriate. This in retrospect caused several restarts of my project when I could not go back to my previous state when I messed up the Zoom feature or failed to input a data at a certain step. Issues like these with emphasis on not being able to easily retrace steps, as the tutorial even warns, is a major detriment to not just GIS software but GUI-based software in general which require such critical features to work.

ArcGIS and the ArcMap program is a powerful tool in data analysis, management and planning. The need for many institution and business to use such analysis in their day to day operation is undeniable. The advent of software-based GIS has propelled GIS in general towards a broader audience beyond just pure maps and data. Several technical issues were found in my first run through, though it could have been easily avoided. The technical barrier is also a detriment though it is expected of such GUI-based development programs as with AutoCAD and others. The necessity and positive potential of ArcGIS and ArcMap for the GIS industry is expansive in the information and data it can provide for business, government and the consumer.