Lab 7 (week 8)

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The Station Fire’s Effects on Nearby Residential Areas and Structures:

Although the Station Fire started within the Angeles National Forest, it quickly grew larger and spread into an out of control wildfire. For a while, the firefighters stated that they only had the fire 5% contained, meaning that it was nearly impossible to control where the fire was spreading to. Fortunately, the blaze was eventually brought under control, and caused only two deaths. Property damage was not very extensive, considering the size of the blaze.

The Station Fire became a threat to nearby populated areas. The second map shows how the fire spread to overlap parts of densely populated, residential zones. The firefighters attempted to set up fire breaks as a defense against the fire spreading to nearby homes. However, they were not entirely successful. The fire was extremely difficult to contain, and raged out of control for a while. Eighty nine homes were destroyed, and thirteen were damaged.

The fire also threatened commercial property. The fire burned on the slopes of Mount Wilson, where over twenty four television, cellphone, and radio towers are. Also at the top of the mountain is a historic solar observatory, worth over $20 million. The observatory is used by UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, and Georgia State University, so it would affect many researchers if it were destroyed. There was much concern over the expensive equipment in the observatories (which could not be moved easily), but the firefighters’ efforts to protect the area were successful. Only two communication sites were destroyed.

Several roads were closed due to the station fire, likely interfering with the daily life of residents in the area. Perhaps the most notable closure was the Angeles Crest Highway, which runs directly through the center of the fire’s area, and is usually used by 11,300 motorists each day. Eleven other roads were closed for the fire’s duration. Also, many residents had to be evacuated in ares such as Juniper Hills, La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge, Altadena, Tujunga, Glendale, and Sunland.

Large fires like the Station Fire in California are an unfortunate result of historic fire suppression. The mediterranean climate has many natural fires, which the native flora are adapted to, or even dependent on. Since European settlement, natural fires have not been allowed to gradually burn up the “fuel” of plant litter that accumulates on forest floors. The result is that when fires do occur and get out of hand, they become large crown fires which kill trees that would otherwise survive them. Disrupting the natural system of small, frequent fires has created a hazard to the environment and to the residents of California.

References:

"20 Largest California Wildland Fires (By Acreage Burned)". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. September 3, 2009. http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/20LACRES.pdf

Knoll, Corina. “TV, cellphone signals from Mt. Wilson at risk.” Los Angeles Times. 31 August 2009. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/31/local/me-fire-mount-wilson31

"Station Fire Evening Update Aug. 31, 2009". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). August 31, 2009. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9360/

“Station Fire Update Sept. 27, 2009”. InciWeb. September 27, 2009. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9640/

Weikel, Dan. “Angeles Crest Highway closed indefinitely because of fire”. Los Angeles Times. 4 September 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/angeles-crest-highway-closed-indefinitely-because-of-fire.html