On August 26, 2009, a wild fire ignited in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles county. This wild fire would become known as the “California Station Fire,” and quickly grew into one of the largest wild fires in modern Los Angeles history. It burned until October 16, 2009, and consumed “a total of 161,189 acres – or nearly 252 square miles” (“Station Fire Recovery”) of land, and destroyed a total of 209 structures, including 89 residencies (“Station Fire News Release [1]”). A few weeks before it had been entirely extinguished, the U.S. Forest Service launched a forensic investigation into the wild fire, which had claimed the lives of two firefighters. The organization attributed the wild fire to arson. The national Forest Service quickly determined that “the fire was started intentionally, and they labeled the firefighters’ deaths [as] homicides” (O’Connor), prompting a homicide inquiry by the Los Angeles Sheriff Department. Through various visual and analytical tools, much can be learned from this unique, and devastating fire that undoubtedly altered Los Angeles county in a variety of aspects.
One such tool that allows for a detailed and powerful visual analysis, is GIS. GIS, or Geographic information system, is a tool utilized by the vast majority of contemporary map makers. Using the power of computers, GIS incorporates multiple data sets to create a visual “layer cake” that can convey a lot of information and a particular message. In this lab, a reference map was created to show the spread of the Station Fires in Los Angeles county. This was done by layering the different perimeters of the wild fire at different dates and times on top of a representation of LA county. The largest and most notable increases in perimeter occurred from August 29 to September 2, with breaks represented on the map at 2:48am on August 29th, and again at 12:25am on August 30th. The last perimeter represented on the reference map is that of September 2, at 7:02am. Additionally, the map features another data layer, a grid digital elevation model, which is a form of raster data. The DEM uses a color gradient to represent different elevations in LA county, with a white or red representing relatively high elevations, and a green or yellow representing relatively low elevations. Finally, the network of major LA roads is added to the map as a final layer. Using simple spatial analysis, a reader of this map can quickly discern some of the impacts this fire had on LA county. The location of the fires in relation to the rest of Los Angeles, and its progression and growth are easily understandable. Furthermore, the sheer size of the perimeter represents a significant portion of the county, easily 15-20 miles across in some areas, using the scale bar as a reference. Its close proximity to high elevation terrain also indicates that the fire occurred in the mountainous regions of the Angeles National Forest, where a high concentration of shrubbery is found. Although much can be known from analyzing the reference map of this fire, GIS allows for the creation of other maps that can reveal much more.
The multitude of maps that can be created using GIS can answer a vast variety of geographic questions. Certain maps, along with spatial analysis, can reveal certain geographic relationships, and add value to spatial data. In the case of the Station Fires, we can ask the question: How do these wild fires affect transportation in Los Angeles? After analyzing the previous thematic map, we can hypothesize that due to the nature of the fire’s large perimeter, as well as its location in the county, transportation in Los Angeles will be hindered to a significant degree. It would seem likely that all forms of transportation, including road, rail, and air travel, will be affected by the station fires to a significant degree. With GIS, the construction of a thematic map, containing relevant data layers, allows us to see the geographic relationships between the fires and LA’s transportation conduits. This is just one way in which GIS can be used to answer geographic questions, as this is only one aspect of the Station Fire and its impact on LA county.
The thematic map used to test this hypothesis will essentially be the same reference map constructed earlier, with additional data layers to reveal certain geographic relationships that are not easily discernible from analyzing the reference map. The first of these data layers is the network of major LA highways, which correlates to transportation by car. The second is the network of railways, which correlates to transportation by train. The third layer shows all major airports within LA county, and their perimeters. The fourth and last data layer shows all heavily populated regions within LA county, which reveals what medium of travel is most accessible and used by most LA residents. These heavily populated regions are clustered primarily around highways and railways, although they are clustered slightly more around major highways. This would suggest that car travel is the most popular means of transportation in Los Angeles. This is confirmed by data from the US census, which in 2005 reported that of “1,662,238 workers [over the age of 16 in the city of Los Angeles], all but 7.8% live in households where at least one car is available” (LA Transportation Profile). Thus, the roads that lie within, or near the station fire perimeter represent the most significant effect on transportation. The two major highways that intersect with the fire perimeters are California State Route 2, which runs primarily in the east-west direction, and California State Route 39, also known as Angeles crest highway, which runs primarily in the north-south direction. Shortly after the fire had attained the perimeter represented by the date and time of September 2 at 7:02am on the thematic map, “more than 40 miles of the Angeles Crest Highway from La Canada Flintridge to Islip Saddle [had] been closed indefinitely,” despite the fact that it handles “as many as 11,300 trips by motorists a day” (Weikel). This closure is quite evident from a simple spatial analysis of the thematic map. Furthermore, even after nearly three weeks, “the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) and Highway 39 [remained] closed” to motorists (“Station Fire News Release [2]”). Again, this is strikingly evident on the thematic map by the extent to which these highways were engulfed by the fire perimeter on September 2nd. Additionally, other, less frequented roads within the fire perimeter “were left without guard rails, and regulatory and safety road signage making them unsafe for regular traffic” (“Angeles NF”). Although a variety of major highways were closed, railways were largely unaffected by the Station Fire. This can be seen as well on the thematic map, as many more roads come within close proximity to the fire than railways. And finally, LA airports appear to be the most unaffected of any data layer, though it should be noted that the airspace closest to the fire perimeter was likely closed to all aircraft except for emergency vehicles.
Through the creation of a variety of visual tools, including thematic maps, GIS allows us to answer certain geographic questions. In the case of the California Station fires, a hypothesis stated that most forms of travel would be affected by the fire. This hypothesis was only partially true, as a spatial analysis of the map revealed that road travel was significantly affected, whereas railway and air traffic were largely unaffected by the fire perimeters. These findings were confirmed with data released by the US government regarding the closures of certain highways in LA county. This is just one of the many ways in which GIS can answer geographic inquiries, and reveal spatial relationships that otherwise may not be evident at first sight.
Bibliography
“Angeles NF - Station Fire.” U.S. Forest Service. United States Department of Agriculture, 4 November 2009. Web. 12 December 2012. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_020019.pdf
O’Connor, Anahad. “Los Angeles Fire Was Arson, Officials Say.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 4 September 2009. Web. 11 December 2012. http:// www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/us/04fires.html?_r=0
“Station Fire News Release[1].” Incident Information System. U.S. National Forest Service, 15 September 2009. Web. 12 December 2012. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9535/
“Station Fire News Release[2].” Incident Information System. U.S. National Forest Service, 26 September 2009. Web. 12 December 2012. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9640/
“Station Fire Recovery.” USDA Forest Service. United States Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 11 December 2012. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/angeles/home/? cid=STELPRDB5292773
“The City of Los Angeles Transportation Profile.” LAcity.org. Los Angeles Department of Transportation, 2009. Web. 11 December 2012. http://ladot.lacity.org/pdf/PDF10.pdf
Weikel, Dan. “Angeles Crest Highway closed indefinitely because of fire.” LA Times. The Los Angeles Times, 4 September 2009. Web. 12 December 2012. http:// latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/angeles-crest-highway-closed- indefinitely- because-of-fire.html
