The Los Angeles County Station Fire was a series of fires that began in the Angeles National Forest that raged on for a little under two months. The huge fire left devastating destructing, burning more than 160,000 acres of land and threatened 12,000 structures in the national forest and nearby counties. It also claimed the lives of two brave firefighters. Surrounding areas nearby were also in danger, and many roads were closed off.
My first two maps located at the top of my post depict the fire's threat on nearby communities and cities. I wanted to depict the amount of danger that the fire imposed on the safety of Los Angeles citizens. The first map is a reference area, to roughly show the fire's exposure to cities, major highways, and counties. This was to give a rough idea of the fire's influence on public safety.
The second map gives a close overview of the fire's effect on cities. Based upon the map, it is clear that many Los Angeles cities were in danger: San Fernando, La Crescenta, La Canada, Atedena, Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena. It is clear that the effects of the fire would be devastating not only to the cities themselves, but to the wildlife located in these areas.
The third and fourth map represents the fire's effect on urbanized places and highly populated areas. This map represents an overlay between the highly populated and urban areas, representing how on a grander scale the fire's impact on urban areas. Many home owner's needed assistance due to the aftermath of the fire. The home owner's of Los Angeles had to receive assistance with their properties and had to meet with flood-control engineers.
The focus of my thematic map was public safety. All of my maps represent the reach of the fire and how devastating arson can be to populated areas. This lab allowed me to focus on the ways that natural disaster's effect an area. By utilizing the analysis of cities, urban areas, and major roadways; I was able to visually understand how far the fire reached. This lab truly relayed the importance of GIS to me, as I felt I was finally able to use the functions to actually analyze landscape. On a much greater scale, geographers and public safety officials use processes like the ones I used in this lab to best prevent the demise of public safety when land disasters occur.
Works Cited
Lopez, Robert. "Fire Force evacuations in La Cañada, Palo Verdes Peninsula." http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/28/local/me-fire-heat-28. Los Angeles Times, 28 August 2009. Web. 8 June 2012.
"Evacuation info, Road and School Closures." http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-station-fire-evacuations,0,2674869,full.story. KTLA News, 10 September 2009. Web. 8 June 2012.
"Station Fire forces more evacuation." http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=6989236. ABC News, 29 August 2009. Web. 8 June 2012.
"National Highway Planning Network." http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/processes/tools/nhpn/. U.S. Department of Transportation, 2012. Web. 8 June 2012.
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