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/>.