Station Fire 2009

               It was early September 2008 and school had just started. There’s always plenty of back to school excitement for us then-high school kids, with spirit days and the upcoming football and volleyball seasons. It was this specific year where the skies were glazed with a reddish hue that carried gray smog filled with ash. An announcement through the intercom was made across campus. The administration had cancelled the football game due to the heavy ash and horrible air conditions. These ashes were derived from wildfires that occurred over 20 miles away. The following year, another grand-scale fire lit through the Angeles National Forest also known as the Station Fire. Wildfires that arise affect not only immediate but also surrounding communities, specifically within a 10-20 mile range. An emphasis on fire containment has been intact however; the Station Fire still grew to be named the largest fire in the history of the Angeles National Forest (“Station Fire”). In this last lab of the quarter, we analyze the Station Fire spread. During my observations and secondary data collection, I have created maps that support my collected findings. The Station Fire ensued major expansion due to geological factors. The main two factors being: rough terrain as well as limited access due to few main roads and access points.

Figure 1. Shows how far the fire has progressed in a 5 day period.

              The map I have created above shows the spread of the fire over time. We can see that the fire began in La Canada just northeast of Glendale. In the matter of a few days, the fire spread out threatening the citizens of Santa Clarita and cities nearing major highways. Collectively, the Station Fire burned about 161,000 acres of land, most of which were forest lands. About 6,700 acres of private and/or residential land were affected too (Angeles National Forest). The fire was devastating and grew to a size ten times larger than where it began. Just to skim over the damage done, the fires estimated a cost of $95,300,000. This cost does not begin take into account the repercussions of the fire damage. Also, the fires resulted in the deaths of two firemen who were in the act of duty. Both men drove off the hazardous road while on duty (Garrison).

Figure 2. Map showing the terrain through a Digital Elevation Model , major roads, and the fire spread of the last recorded spread for each of the 5 days

              Many blame the lack of response to the incident as the cause of the rapid development of the fire. Above, I have created a map that shows the roughness of the terrain that surrounds the area of interest. We can see through this map that this area has very dynamic topology. The rough terrain is pictured through the high variation in black, white, and gray of the hillshade values. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that the jagged terrain limits the amount of safe opportunities for fire suppression ("Station Fire Initial Attack Review"). A lack of major roads and access points is another reason why access to the fire origins was limited. Three major roads run through the main areas affected by the forest: Big Tujunga Canyon Road, Angeles Forest Highway, and State Highway 2. On the other hand, having limited roads is also a reason why the forest is able to survive. Figure 1 shows areas with major roadways which are areas of high development in cities like Los Angeles. The issue of safety and preservation of forestry then comes into play when dealing with access to the forest using public roads. That debate is another topic in itself and shall be left for another day. Nonetheless, not having many access points contributes to why firefighters had difficulty in containing the fire. 

Figure 3. Google image of area before the fire (Source: USDA)

              Other factors that contributed to the fire spread are vegetation and weather conditions. Figure 3 shows the foliage before the fires hit. The dense native California chaparral vegetation is not the most forgiving on hot weather days. The plants and even soil become dry and add to the hazard of forest fires. Presence of dead vegetation sharply increases chances for fires. According to the USDA the dead vegetation percentage ranged from 50%-70%. Weather conditions were relatively warm with temperatures in the high eighties. Humidity was low, about 11%, and winds did not exceed 10 miles per hour (USDA). Conversely, these conditions are often present when wildfires occur throughout southern California and were not the main contribution factor to the spread of the fire. 

Figure 4. Pyrocumulus cloud approaching Los Angeles during the Station Fire (Source: AP Photo/Jon Vidar)

               The Station Fire devastation was the result of largely inaccessible areas and the steep, rugged terrain of the forest. Figure 3 points out the one main road that could have been used by response persons. We can also see how dangerously close they would be to the fire. Immediate areas like Glendale, Pasadena and Alta Dena areas were greatly impacted by the Station Fires. Also, the post-fire effects carried onto new dangers such as mudslides and unprotected road hazards (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)). Still, large plumes of smoke and ash affect local urban and natural areas in the Los Angeles County and adjacent Angeles Nation Forest habitats. Geological factors will always be present and given the nature of this event, more aggressive response to these fires are needed. California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) even reports one of their main corrective action recommendations is to improve their response management. The presence of rugged terrain will always remain and only few roadways can be added because of their negative environmental effects. Although the main cause of this fire was its geologic factors, we must find innovative ways to work with the natural habitats that occur here in California. 

Works Cited

Angeles National Forest. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Angeles NF – Station Fire. November 04 2009. 

                http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_020019.pdf.

California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA). “2009 Los Angeles County Wildfires                After Action / Corrective Action Report."

                http://www.calema.ca.gov/PlanningandPreparedness/Pages/After-Action-Corrective-Action-

                Reporting.aspx.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "Homeowner’s Mitigation Projects Spared Home 

               from Mudflow Damage.” Accessed: 14 June 2012.               

               http://www.fema.gov/mitigationbp/bestPracticeDetailPDF.do?mitssId=7390.

Garrison, Jessica, Alexandra Zavis and Joe Mozingo. "Station fire claims 18 homes and two
               firefighters." Los Angeles Times. 31 August 2009. 

               http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/31/local/me-fire31.

"Station Fire". InciWeb. 10 November 2009. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1856/.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). "Station Fire Initial Attack Review: Report of the 

               Review Panel." USDA Fire and Aviation Management. 13 November 2009. 

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

Vidar, Jon. AP Photo. 31 August 2009. 

               http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/wildfires_in_southern_californ.html. Photo.

Back to Basics

           For my fourth lab, I followed a 5-part tutorial given by ArcGIS. Through this single yet extensive lab, I was able to utilize one set of data and manipulate it for three different purposes. Many basic and important techniques were taught throughout the tutorial. It took me much longer than expected to complete, which Professor Sheng has repeatedly told us. This reason is probably why he emphasizes, and writes in our lab instructions, to save our work as we go along. Overall ArcGIS is a great tool to help with data analysis. However, there are still certain drawbacks to using this program.

            User-friendly is not word that I would readily use for this program. Following directions would be very difficult if someone is using this program without any prior experience. Having some previous exposure helped in managing the program. Even then, getting through the tutorial was very time consuming. Also, the program is very susceptible to accidents that may have you start from scratch. There was one point during the lab that my map would not show up in the “Layout View” or even when I tried to print preview. These mistakes are not easily undone because the “Undo” button only goes so far back.

            Once mastery of this system has been accomplished, then the true potential of this program can be revealed. ArcGIS is helpful for mass amounts of data. Data portrayal can also be strategically manipulated in order to help others learn about spatial relationships. Therefore, scientific data can be better understood by those who are not well-versed, or simply do not have the time to locate these associations. Policy makers and stakeholders are some examples of people who need to understand these correlations quickly and thoroughly.

            For a beginning tutorial, this lab was a difficult one. It was able to cover many useful features such as symbology, joining attribute tables, and basic cartography techniques. ArcGIS also allows for one to customize maps and make them aesthetically appealing to any audience. The tutorial also allowed us to apply analytic techniques to large amounts of data. For example, we calculated the population density of many areas with a simple equation and illustrated the differences through a symbolic color ramp. ArcGIS has plenty of potential and like with many other technologies, there are still obstacles the program still needs to overcome. Still, these setbacks do not fully prevent the program from being a valuable tool.

U.S. Census Maps

Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a helpful way to analyze large amounts of data such as U.S. Census Data. In this Lab we used data from the 2000 U.S. Census. Retrieving the data once collected by the bureau is a simple process of downloading information. Fixing the data so that it is fit for GIS analysis is a little more difficult because it takes a lot of attention to detail to ensure that this info in portrayed in a proper manner. As a beginner with GIS, this exercise was tedious but it was helpful in learning basics.

According to the U.S. Census 2000, the black population is more concentrated on the Eastern side of the states. Even more specifically, the Southern region of the east side is the most populated in comparison the rest of the United States. In this part of the U.S., Black populations range from over 50% to about 80%. This is an extremely high percentage as compared to the rest of the population percentages, most of which are under 12%.

The term "Other Population" is defined by individuals who do not fall under the categories: White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. In comparison to the Other Population concentrations in other counties, these individuals are concentrated on the West Coast with the highest concentrations in some Southern California counties and Texas. Most of these said counties in California and Texas have counties with populations ranging between 24% to 43%.

The percentage of Asian population is relatively evenly widespread across the country in comparison to the other percentages of Asians. The highest concentrations are in the Southern California region. The rest of the populations across the United States are low, most of which are less than 5%. This five percent is a small percentage compared to the 20-46% concentrated in the Southern California region. 

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs)

3-D Model

Extent

Top: 34.5591666657748

Bottom: 34.213611110196

Left: -118.469444445439

Right: -117.842500000952

I chose an area in the Southern California region to carry out this Digital Elevation Model. I selected an area near the beginning of mountainous range so that we can see different elevations. I used Spatial Analysis methods to get most of these graphs. These Spatial Analysis features utilize raster inputs to carry out these functions. For all the maps, the geographic coordinate system used is the North American 1983 as said in the properties table of the maps.

Map Projections

Distances between Washington D.C., USA and Kabul, Afghanistan:

• Mercator: 10,112.12 miles
• Stereographic: 9,905.71 miles
• Equidistant Conic: 7,083.97 miles
• Azimuthal Equidistant: 8,348.19 miles
• Eckert IV: 7,862.56 miles
• Cylindrical Equal Area: 10,106.32 miles

Map projections help portray a geographic area in a way that would fit the purpose of the graph. Different map projections can cater to help show true direction, shape, distance, or area. However, the major fault of these map projections is that not all of these features can be depicted simultaneously. Above I have pictured six different type of map projections, all of which cater to a specific need. Although these are six different types of projections, they are just the few of many map projections that are under constant revision. 

Conformal maps help with proper display of angles. This feature means that direction is always preserved on the map. Area, shape, and distance are not preserved in Mercator maps. In fact, these features are distorted to help create a neat, rectangular shaped map which is useful for making it easy for visuals. Most of the distortions are at the poles and the most accurate distances are close to the equator. In Stereographic maps, distances are true from the center point and the scale increases as you move away from the center of the map. This map is useful for solving spherical geophysical problems and for maps of the polar regions.

Equidistant maps show true scale between two points. Equidistant Conical projections are useful for displaying regions in the mid-latitudes as it utilizes two standard parallels. Just like the last two map projections, distortion also increases as we move away from the two standardized parallels. Distances are also true along the standardized regions but change as the distortion increases. For Azimuthal Equidistant maps, both direction and distance are true from the center of the point projection. As long as the lines from two points run through the center point, the distance is true. Therefore, as you can compare the distances, the distance between Washington D.C. and Kabul are distorted because they do not run between the center point.

Equal Area maps distort the distances of the oceans to ensure that the continents are distorted as little as possible. The Eckert IV map is very different because it is neither a circle or rectangular map. The curved sides and variation of distances between lines help with reducing polar distortions. Cylindrical Equal Area maps compress the distances at the poles. The polar regions of the map are therefore distorted in shape and may not always be clear to individuals. However the distances at both the poles at two latitudes that lie north and south of the equator. The positive thing about having multiple standard parallels is that distortion of area are minimized at these lengths. 

My Map

Lab 3 - Make Your Own Map

Here is my map that tours Pilipino historical landmarks in San Francisco.


View Lab 3 in a larger map

Topographic Maps

1. The name of the quadrangle is Beverly Hills located in Los Angeles County, California.
2. The adjacent quadrangles of Beverly Hills are: Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood.
3. The quadrangle was first created in 1995.
4. The North American Datum of 1927 and 1983 were used to create this map.
5. The scale of the map is 1:24000 which means one inch is equivalent to 24000 inches.
6. a) Using the conversion of 1cm = 0.3937in, 5cm on the map is equivalent to 1.9inches. 1.9 inches on the map is 47,244 inches on the ground which is also 3,937 feet. Multiplying the measurement in feet by 0.3048 as indicated on the map to find meters, 5cm on the map is equivalent to 1,200 meters.
    b) Five inches on the map is equivalent to 120,000 inches, or 10,000 feet. Since 1 mile is 5,280 feet, 5 inches on the map is equivalent to 1.894 miles.
    c) One mile on the ground is equivalent to 63,360 inches. On the map, 1 mile is 2.64 inches, or 6.70 centimeters.
7. The contour interval on the map is 20 feet.
8. What are the approx. grographic coordinates in both degrees/min/sec and decimal degrees of:
    a) PubAff building: Longitude: 34 degrees 5 minutes 5 seconds, Latitude: 118 degrees 26 minutes 15 seconds;
    b) Tip of SM Pier: Longitude: 34 degrees 15 seconds, Latitude: 118 degrees 30 minutes
    c) Uppter Franklin Canyon Reservoir: Longitude: 34 degrees 6 minutes, Latitude: 118 degrees 24 minutes  50 seconds
9. Approx. elevation in both ft and m of:
    a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park)? 560 ft, or 170.7 meters
    b) Woodlawn Cemetery? 140 ft, or 42.7 meters
    c) Crestwood Hills Park? 760 ft, or 231.5 meters
10. UTM zone of map? UTM zone 11
11 UTM Coords for lower left corner of map?
12. How many sq. m are contained w/in each cell of UTM gridlines? 1,000,000 sq. meters
13.

14. Magnetic declintion of map? 14 degrees

15. In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between 405 and Stone Canyon Reservoir? South

16.