Geography 7, LAB 8

Los Angeles Station Fire 2009 

The Los Angeles County Station Fire of 2009

The Los Angeles National Forest is one of the most hazardous chaparral shrub-lands and it is located in one of the driest areas, making the area the most fire prone zone in Southern California. Both Maps above show the Los Angeles Station Fire that broke out in 2009. In the maps you will see the perimeter and the surrounding area that was affected by the fire. In the first Map I included additional fires that have broke out from 2007 until the 2009 station fire episode and the different fire locations that have occurred in the dry areas around the Lo Angeles Forest. I added additional fires show how prone this area in Los Angeles is, to wildfires to occur and their importance in relation to the City of Los Angeles, in order to take better preventative measures or better access to public services for those residing in at risk zones.

On August 26, 2009 a Fire broke out in the Los Angeles Mountains, Burning over 230 square miles of land in the Los Angeles National Forest, affecting the surrounding wildlife and communities around the perimeter of the forest at risk from the intense flames. The fire was said to have started by an arsonist, “near the pullout on the Los Angeles Crest Highway.”

The landscape, steep slopes and the weather along with other factors made the fire spread rapidly. During the fire there was a great amount of firefighters send out to contain the fire according to a station report of the fire it was mentioned how the efforts of containment were pretty difficult and they could have been improved, it wasn't until October 16, 2009 that the fire was completely contained.

The management of the fire was very difficult because of the tophography of the land there was very limited access towards roads that fighter fighters could use to manage the fire better.

The Station Fire was one of the largest wildland fires in the Los Angeles, the fire moved south, west, as well as east some of the residential communities that were threatened the foothill communities in Los Angeles like La Canada, Flintridge and La Cresenta as well as Big Tujunga Canyon. Some of the residential areas in those communities were evacuated from the area. The fire was spreading to different areas.

The expansion and length of the fire allowed for a lot of heat and smoke to rise in the atmosphere and this developed bad breathing air for community members, affecting their health specially affecting the health of community members.

Fires in Los Angeles have a long history of firefighter fatalities, this bring to light the importance of route access to the closest emergency medical services or just medical services. It is essential to have clear management of all the roads and all the places that serve as safe places for wounded fighter fighters and community members who are being evacuated. This is why I added the roads around the station fire in the map.

It is important to guide and give access to health services because there might be a lot of community members who might need shelter services, but more than anything services to check up on their physical well-being. As mentioned earlier there was a lot of fire smoke which went up into the atmosphere all that smoke ends up in areas near the fire as well neighboring cities, and that air full of smoke tends to affect peoples lungs and their overall health.

In the second map shown above we can see all the hospitals, clinics, or medical services around the affected zones by the fires, and many of these emergency rooms are actually pretty far from the hills, therefore, this is were the roads and highways come into account in allowing the general population to have access to these medical services.

Bibliography

United States Department of Agriculture (2009). Fire and Aviation Management: Station Fire Initial Attack Review. USDA

Retrieved from: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/station_fire_report.pdf

Forest Service's Response Offers Potential Lessons for Future Wildland Fire Management. (2011) GAO Report to Congressional Requesters

Retrieved from : http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587075.pdf

The 2009 Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest. California Chaparral Institute.(2009).

Retrieved from: http://www.californiachaparral.com/2009fireinlacounty.html

Fire station Perimeter shapefile

http://egis3.lacounty.gov/eGIS/category/gis-data/fire/

This is where I got the Shapefile of the Los Angeles Census Boundaries

http://www2.census.gov/cgi-bin/shapefiles2009/state-iles?state=06’

This is where I got the Shape file of the freeways
http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/2011/01/20/freeways-single-line-for-labels/

This is where I got the Shapefile of Los Angeles Boundaries

http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/2013/01/09/l-a-county-boundary/

Hospital and Imergency Rooms Shapefile 
http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/2012/05/23/hospital-emergency-room-locations-and-entry-points/