Thursday, December 13, 2012

Los Angeles Station Fire 2009




































      

  
           In late August of 2009 a large fire burned through around 160,000 acres of chaparral and forest land in Angeles National Forest. Called the Station Fire, more than 2,800 firefighters, 12 helicopters, and 8 air tanks have joined forces to battle the fire as it spread across the county. Though there was not much wind, the dry conditions helped fuel the fire, making it difficult to contain. The fire extended from the edge of metropolitan Los Angeles down towards the Mojave Desert, forcing 6,600 evacuations and threatening roughly 12,500 homes.
             The Station Fire had led to air quality officials issuing smoke advisories due to really low air quality caused by the smoke. Most of the pollution was concentrated in the valleys with a recorded Air Quality Index of 398 as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Officials have stated that any number above 100 is considered unhealthy. The low air quality had caused several districts to close their schools or postpone their first day back, including Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena, and La Canada.
            Based on the maps provided, though some schools were close to the fire, none were in its direct path. This is most likely due to how the city was planned out. According to the California Chaparral Institute, wildfires in the chaparral area are common and expected. For this reason, city planners made sure that no schools were within close range. In addition, all public and private schools go through an annual fire safety inspection in order to ensure that fires do not start on the individual campuses.
The reason schools were impacted this time was due to the drought conditions which led to a bigger, more unpredictable fire. Though the fact that fires occur may be predictable, the rest of the environment is not, which makes it difficult to assess what is the best way to control the fire. In addition, according to USGS, as reported by the California Chaparral Institute, “there are more than 140 miles of fuel breaks within the Station Fire Perimeter. Many of these areas have been invaded by highly flammable, non-native weeds” (Syphard). The Institute argues that rather than trying to clear the area of its native vegetation, scientists should look into seeing what else is growing within the region and the impact of the non-native greenery.
However, due to city planning none of the schools were severely damaged and were able to open back up once the air quality improved. Also, judging from the provided maps, other than one, almost all the highways were also away from the fire. Even as the fire spread, it did not reach the main part of Glendale. This demonstrates the importance of city planning, especially around areas prone to natural disasters. Many reports regarding damaged houses and injured citizens claim that they failed to follow regulations and/or refused to evacuate when ordered to do so. Wildfires are inevitable in Southern California, but as long as precautions are taken beforehand, their damage can be limited. 

Works Cited
"53 Structures Burned in Station Fire." Los Angeles News. KABC 7, 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

"Department of City Planning." Department of City Planning. City of Los Angeles, 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 
         2012. 

Garrison, Jessica. "Station Fire Claims 18 Homes and Two Firefighters." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles 
          Times, 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. 

 Knoll, Corina. "Air Quality Suffers, Schools Stay Closed and Animals Find Shelter." Los Angeles 
           Times.   Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

"Local News." Daily News Los Angeles. Daily News, 30 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Dec. 2012



Syphard, A. D. "California Chaparral Institute." Misconceptions about the Station Fire 
             Corrected. California Chaparral Institute, 04 September 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.





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