The Station Fire, the largest and most damaging of the 2009 California wildfires, began in Angeles National Forest, near Highway 2 north of La Canada Flintridge on September 26. The initial attack on the fire was unsuccessful due to two factors. First, rough terrain in the area of the outbreak made transportation of firefighting equipment by ground difficult. Second, dry and thick vegetation covered the surrounding area, creating an extremely volatile environment which posed significant risk to firefighters.
The fire mostly spread north through the vegetation of the Angeles National Forest, becoming the most devastating since the forest was officially named in 1892. By the morning of August 31 the fire was only 5% contained and had burned 85,000 acres, destroying 18 structures. It spread north through the forest, endangering structures in the city of Acton to the north, and to the south, endangering the northern areas of the cities of La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge, and Altadena. Residents of these areas experienced forced evacuations to nearby high schools.
By September 1 the fire had burned nearly 122,000 acres and destroyed 53 structures, and remained 5% contained. Residents of northern Glendale and Tujunga were now forced to evacuate. Though the fire was 22% contained by September 2 the fire, it had burned 140,000 acres and destroyed 90 structures including 62 residences.
The map above shows that most of the fire's growth occurred between August 29 and September 2. Its rapid growth was attributed to strong winds as well as the volatile, dry nature of the vegetation in the Angeles National Forest. Assisted by increased humidity, firefighters were finally meeting some success in containing the fire, with 50% by September 6, when all forced evacuations had ceased. The fire was not fully contained, however, until October 16, 2009, with the assistance of rain. In total it had burned 160,577 acres and cost nearly $90 million. Restoration and rehabilitation of affected areas in the Angeles National Forest had begun.
One of the most significant effects of the Station Fire is the tremendous environmental damage it inflicted. 73% of the soil burn was classified as moderate to high. Since the Angeles National Forest has considerable tectonic activity, with multiple fault lines, its terrain is dramatic (as shown in the map below), with over half of the slopes in the burn area have a grade of 50% or more. These two factors along with the new lack of vegetation create a significant risk of erosion and sedimentation, which pose a threat to people and property in the Angeles National Forest and in the aforementioned communities. Devastating landslides and debris flow may occur in a storm.
Resources
"InciWeb the Incident Information System: Station Fire." inciweb.org. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. http://inciweb.org/incident/1856/
"Fire and Aviation Management: Station Fire Initial Attack Review." United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service , 13 Nov. 2009. 18 Nov. 2009. http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2009/releases/11/station-report-11-13-2009.pdf
"Burned Area Report - CA-ANF 3622." United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service , 23 Sept. 2009. 18 Nov. 2009. http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/station/BAER/2500-8%20BAER%20Assessment%20Report_Station%20BAER_Public%20Release_10.16.2009.pdf
"Station Fire Growth Slows, But New Areas At Risk" Neon Tommy, 28 Aug. 2009. 18 Nov. 2009. http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/neontommy/2009/08/in-the-news-california-wildfir.html
Millikin, Mary. "Los Angeles fire growth slows with more humidity." Reuters, 1 Sept. 2009. 18 Nov. 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN01488953
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