week 8 Lab 7

National Broadcast Company of Los Angeles reported that on August 26, the Station Fire tormented Los Angeles. It was determined that it was caused by arson, it has burned through 250 square miles, killed two firefighters, injured 11 people, destroyed 89 homes and forced thousands of evacuations. The main purpose of my GIS map is to spatially analyze how close places of worship, such as churches and temples were in the path of the blaze. CBS stated that firefighters were stationed at Tujunga's "Rustic" neighborhood late Tuesday morning, as flames were inching down toward some 300 homes. Homes on the northern edge of Glendale were also threatened, as well as places of worship that people held dear to their hearts and spirituality were in the line of danger.
By August 30, the Station Fire was spreading north of Los Angeles into the Angeles Crest Forest. Which is a good sign since most of the structures were south of the fire. The tall and pillowy clouds were caused by heat from the fire and the destructive power of the fire needed to be dealt with so places of worship with in a two-mile proximity should be evacuated for safety measures. I created two buffer zones one with a 10,000-foot zone that is shown in light brown. This buffer zone has probable evacuation status since it is within the 10,000 feet (1.9 mile) zone.
The other buffer zone is the 15,000 feet range (shown in light yellow), which expects churches and temples to be on the lookout for flames. The evacuation status is probable but it is not as pressing as the ones that are in the light brown area.
Depending on the conditions the rate, direction and speed of the fire can change, so we can not take any risks and we should act on evacuating and deeming certain locations uninhabitable until the fire is contained. INCIWEB.com stated that Southern California frequently experiences quick-moving brush fires and grass fires, which burn in finer and thinner fuels. The Station Fire, burning on National Forest lands, is truly a “forest fire”, yet structure are still affected and are of the utmost concern in this GIS map.
The Station Fire turned vicious the night of August 30, spreading in three directions, doubling in size and killing two firefighters. If there had been drought conditions, like in Southern California, and if there were high winds, then the fires will spread very quickly. By August 31, the hotspots had spread east, west and north, showing the movement of the fire overnight. The flames, just west of Mt. Wilson, created a large plume of smoke and threatened the famed observatory and broadcast towers on the top of Mt. Wilson. On September 2, a full week after the Station Fire began, a combination of smoke and clouds hovered over much of Los Angeles County. By Sept. 6, the Station Fire had been burning for two weeks and had spread to more than 250 square miles. Finally, the fire slowly got weaker and containment was in sight.
Fortunately, things were changing in our favor, since Los Angeles Times.com stated that La Cañada Flintridge residents expressed their gratitude to firefighters with a sign in the front yard of one Ocean View Boulevard home saying “Thank you for saving Paradise Valley.” The mandatory evacuation order for the neighborhood was lifted Tuesday morning. This showed hope and the need for an evacuation was necessary for the neighborhoods around the area of the Station Fire.
Wikipedia.com stated that the blaze threatened 12,000 structures in the National Forest and the nearby communities of La Cañada Flintridge, Glendale, Acton, La Crescenta, Littlerock and Altadena, as well as the Sunland and Tujunga neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles. Many of these areas faced mandatory evacuations as the flames drew near, but as of September 6, all evacuation orders were lifted. The facts prove that the Station Fire, north of Los Angeles, was the largest and deadliest of these wildfires, burning 160,577 acres.
The use of Arc GIS in this situation can be very useful in determining which areas are at higher demand for evacuation or assistance. With the buffer feature of Arc GIS, you can spatially analyze imminent problems such as the Station Fire and take action effectively by determining areas that can be affected. Although nature and conditions are sometimes hard to predict, it is better to be safe than sorry. Places or worship are important places to protect because they hold high value in the lives of people, but the actual lives of the people are more important to protect in these catastrophic situations.


Bibliography

"Fire From Space." NBClosangeles. NBC, 01 sep 2009. Web. 27 May 2010. .

"Fire Watch." CBS2. CBS, 02 Sep 2009. Web. 27 May 2010. .

"Fire Map." LAtime.com. Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug 2009. Web. 27 May 2010. .

"The Station Fire." Inciweb.com. Inciweb, 11 Sep 2009. Web. 27 May 2010. .

"California Wildfires." Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia, 21 Sep 2009. Web. 27 May 2010. .