Geography 7 Lab
Final Project
Reference Map
Thematic Map showing Fire Perimeter and Existing Significant Ecological Areas
Thematic Map showing Fire Perimeter and Proposed Significant Ecological Areas
Thematic Map showing Proposed Significant Ecological Areas within 2009 Station Fire Perimeter
As a Geography/Environmental
Studies Major, I have a great deal of interest in the protection and
conservation of wildlife and natural resources. As a Geographic Information
Systems minor, my goal is to try and find ways to follow my passion for
preserving the environment by using spatial analysis to prevent natural or
anthropogenic disasters from affecting important ecological areas. Therefore I
have created a project in which I have analyzed the potential impact of fire on
Los Angeles’s most important areas of ecological biodiversity.
Los Angeles County is home to some
of the richest plant and animal biodiversity in the United States (“Significant
Ecological Area”). In order to protect the ecology of this “Biodiversity
Hotspot”, local government officials have implemented the “Significant
Ecological Areas Program”, which aims to identify and conserve the county’s
most ecologically important landscapes (“Significant Ecological Area”). The
concept of Significant Ecological Areas (SEA) is fairly unique to Los Angeles.
Few other counties throughout the state have implemented such a plan, and none have
attempted it on such a large scale. Significant Ecological Areas are
established to preserve rare, threatened, or endangered species of plants and
animals, as well as protect the land and water that these species rely on (“Significant
Ecological Area”). The Significant Ecological Area committee claims that it is
important to preserve these areas, as they greatly contribute to the functionality
of the entire ecosystem. Therefore, protecting SEA’s and the habitat corridors
between them is critically important.
There are nearly sixty-five
existing Significant Ecological Areas throughout Los Angeles County. The “2009
LA Station Fire Perimeter and Existing Significant Ecological Areas” map shows
the distribution of these areas. As one can see, few SEA’s were within the 2009
Station Fire perimeter. However, the fire still had very serious consequences
for the wildlife throughout these areas. According to the US Forest Service,
the LA County Station Fire altered the hydrology of the landscape, polluted
water sources, and increased the spread of non-native species throughout the
Tujunga Valley/Hansen Dam Significant Ecological Area and other SEA’s more than
5km beyond the southwest perimeter of the fire (“US Forest Service”). Furthermore,
many animals that inhabited these ecological areas such as deer, bobcats,
woodrats, coyotes, and birds were either seriously injured or killed in the
fire. Many of these animals were not even touched by the flames, but died of
hot gases and lack of oxygen due to burning (“US Forest Service”). It is
evident that the Station Fire caused serious damage to the overall ecology of
the region.
The
Station Fire occurred in what the Los Angeles Fire Department Brush Clearance
Service calls a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone” (“High Fire Hazard”). The
LAFD claims that there is a high probability that this area will burn again in
the future (“High Fire Hazard”). However, even with this in mind, Los Angeles
officials have proposed to implement three new Significant Ecological Areas
that fall within this zone. The “2012 Proposed Significant Ecological within 2009 Station Fire Perimeter” map shows the proximity of the Santa Clara River, San
Gabriel Canyon, and Altadena Foothills/Arroyos SEA to the perimeter of the 2009
Station Fire. It is clear that another large-scale fire in a similar location
as the 2009 Station Fire could potentially have devastating effects on these
proposed ecological areas, as all three fall within the fire perimeter. Therefore
it is critically important to minimize the risk of large-scale, uncontrolled
wildfires throughout these areas through brush clearing, small-scale controlled
burns, and other fire prevention techniques.
It
is important to ensure the safety of all Significant Ecological Areas, but when
looking at the perimeter of the 2009 Station Fire, it is clear that the Santa
Clara River, San Gabriel Canyon, and Altadena Foothills/Arroyos Significant
Ecological Areas would be extremely vulnerable to fire damage if another fire
like the Station Fire were to break out. These three areas are home to the endangered
Mountain Yellow Frog, Santa Ana sucker, and occasionally the California Condor
(Archibold). It is imperative to prevent these regions from large-scale burning
like that of the Station Fire.
The
2009 LA County Station Fire was the largest fire in Los Angeles County recorded
history, burning over 160,000 acres (Crouch). Although devastating, possibly
the only good news was that the fire did not affect a majority of the
Significant Ecological Areas throughout Los Angeles County. But the newly
proposed Santa Clara River, San Gabriel Canyon, and Altadena Foothills/Arroyos
Significant Ecological areas would be extremely vulnerable to another Station
Fire. Not only do these areas possess a rich diversity of animal species, they
also contain stands of mature oak, fir, and other hardwood trees that, if
burned, would not return to a forest without human intervention (“US Forest
Service). This could have serious consequences on the ecosystem.
If
another Station Fire breaks out in the future, the Santa Clara River, San
Gabriel Canyon, and Altadena Foothills/Arroyos Significant Ecological Areas
must be of top priority, as they fall within the 2009 Station Fire perimeter
and would most likely be the first SEA’s to burn.
Archibold, Randal
C. "After a Devastating Fire, an Intense Study of Its Effects." The
New York Times, 03 Oct. 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
"California
Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map Update Project." Cal Fire. CA.GOV, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
<http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/fire_prevention_wildland_zones_maps.php>.
Crouch, Jake.
"State of the Climate: Wildfires (Annual 2009)." NOAA: Noational
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 8 Jan. 2010. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/fire/2009/13>.
"Significant
Ecological Area Program." Los Angeles County Department of Regional
Planning, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. <http://planning.lacounty.gov/sea/>.
"US Forest
Service Fact Sheet: Station Fire Restoration." US Forest Service, 15 Apr.
2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. <www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5298487.pdf>.
"Very High
Fire Hazard Severity Zone." Los Angeles Fire Department: Brush Clearance
Unit, 2007. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. <http://lafd.org/brush/zone.htm>.
