Wildfires devastate the vegetation, property, and financial state of California. California used to have a typical “fire season” lasting from June to October, but more recently it seems that the fire season lasts year round. California’s worst wildfire occurred in October of 2007. These wildfires caused the largest evacuation in the history of California when 1,000,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. The fires were so bad that Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency and George Bush ordered federal aid to help fight the fire and help California. These fires left 9 dead, 85 injured, and 1,500 homes destroyed.
More recently, the Los Angeles County Station Fire of 2009 burned through LA. This fire was the largest of all the wildfires in California in 2009 and the tenth largest in California’s history. It lasted from August 26 to October 16—outside of the typical “fire season” and burned 251 square miles of land and destroyed 89 homes. It cost California $93.8 million dollars and took the lives of two fire fighters.
As shown on the second map, the Station Fire burned through Angeles National Forest, a park in LA County. The fire began in the forest by arson. It spread rapidly due to decades of fuel buildup, with lots of dead shrubbery and trees, and drought. Furthermore, brush strands were so thick and high that firefighters had difficulty accessing the fire, and consequently, it spread to a greater degree. After the fire ended, measures were taken to restore areas of the forest to how it used to be.
The second map also shows hospitals that were nearby the Station Fire. It is important to know which hospitals are close to wildfires in case a hospital needs to be evacuated or if injured people need to get to a hospital. For example with the Station Fire, one firefighter suffered a femur injury and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.
In conclusion, wildfires are an enormous problem in California. Not only do they destroy the national forests, but they injure and kill firemen and civilians, destroy property, and cost California millions of dollars. Knowing the nearby locations of hospitals is important in saving lives and implementing strategies to prevent the hospitals from suffering from fire damage. As fires become fiercer and more frequent in California, we need to better understand how to study them, map them, and prevent them.
References
Wikipedia contributors. "October 2007 California wildfires." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Nov. 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.
Wikipedia contributors. "2009 California wildfires." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Nov. 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2010
"Station Fire". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). September 4, 2009. http://inciweb.org/incident/1856/. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
“Fire and Aviation Management.” United States Department of Agriculture. November 13, 2009. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5167212.pdf. Retrieved November 23, 2010
“Station Fire 38% Contained: Evacuations Ordered.” Los Angeles Times. September 3, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/station-fire-38-contained-evacuations-ordered.html. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
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