The Los Angeles Station Fires were the most threatening natural disaster in Los Angeles of since the 1994 earthquake in Northridge. As fires go, the blaze was "unprecendented, with fire blazing through 25,000 acres in an eight-hour period", according to Deputy Fire Chieft Mike Bryant (L.A. Now). Within the first few days, firefighters attempted to cut a break between residential homes and the flames closest to these homes, but were struggling with winds burning in the wrong direction the whole time. "Damage assessment teams have confirmed 53 strutures have burned..." (L.A Now) and that was just in the opening stages. The Station fire would go on to burn over 160,000 acres and 209 structures, 89 of which were homes (Station Fire Update).
The fires threatened structures throughout the Angeles National Forest and the surrounding communities of La Canada, Flintridge, Glendale, La Crescenta, and Altadena as well as the City of Los Angeles (Station Fire Evening Update). The station fire also burned through Mt. Wilson, "threatening numerous television, radio, and cellular telephone antennas on the summit" (Knoll). It was later discovered that the fire was started by arson. Over 93.8 million dollars were spent fighting the fire (Station Fire Update September 15), and the fire was only fully contained after firefighters were aided by a light rainfall. The Station fire ranks as the 10th worst fire in California history, and the worst in Los Angeles County history.
However, the blaze was dangerous because it threatened several civilian and residential communities. Many fires occur out in the rural countryside, and while more acres may burn less human structure is at risk. The thematic map below details Los Angeles Population Density, and clearly the population at risk is not at the heart of Los Angeles population density. While this Station Fire only threatened the outside of Los Angeles communities, it still affected more individuals than almost any fire in recent memory (along with the devastating San Diego fires about 7 years ago).
Additionally, I included the thematic map of Los Angeles County freeways and major roads. Along with only affecting the outskirts of the population, major thoroughfares were not truly affected. Only California Interstate 210 was truly at risk, but most major Los Angeles traffic patterns were permitted to continue normally. From this point of view, the fire had a smaller effect.
The biggest problem with natural disasters on this scale and magnitude is that they strike fear into the hearts of the general population. In retrospect it is easy to say that less than 100 residential homes were burned, or that major roads and freeways were not forced to close, or that the largest effect on the lives of most Angelinos was the smoke in the air and the damage caused to the lungs from breathing smoky air. At the time, people were frightened that their house could be next, and that their way of life would be no more. GIS provides a valuable tool in delineating the borders and affected populations after the fact to determine the true scale and magnitude of the disaster.
Bibliography"L.A. NOW" Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/some-official say-spread-of-station-fire-appears-to-be-slowing.html. Online. Dec 2, 2010.
"Station Fire Update" InciWeb. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9640/. Online. Dec 2, 2010.
"Station Fire Evening Update." Inciweb. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9360/. Dec 2, 2010.
Knoll, Corinna. "TV, cellphone signals from Mt. Wilson at risk" Los Angeles Times.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/31/local/me-fire-mount-wilson31. Online. Dec 2,
2010.
"Station Fire Update Sept. 15, 2009" Inciweb. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9535/.
Online. Dec 2, 2010.
