Free Essay on Wildfires: A Case Study of Los Angeles, California

On average, over the last decade, every year, about 60,000 people died from natural disasters worldwide. This constitutes 0.1 percent of fatalities worldwide. In recent decades we have experienced a significant decrease in deaths. Fewer than 20,000 die in most years (and in the most recent decade, this has often been less than 10,000). The death toll has not exceeded 500,000 since the mid-1960s, except in peak years of high-impact occurrences. The fatal catastrophic occurrences have traditionally been floods and droughts. Deaths from these events are now minimal, and earthquakes appear to be the deadliest events today (Ritchie, 2014). California city is one of the areas affected by natural hazards, specifically wildfires. Therefore, this paper will discuss the occurrence of wildfires and its risks in Los Angeles, California.

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Location of Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is located in southern California between the San Gabriel mountains on the Pacific Ocean's east and west coast on coordinates 34o03'N and 118o15'W (Freedman et al., 2020). Metropolitan area population density varies widely, as low as one person in mountainous areas per square mile and as much as 50,000 per square mile near downtown Los Angeles. City district, 466 square miles; county, 4,070 square miles (1,207 square km) (10,540 square km) (Freedman et al., 2020). Los Angeles has been indelibly connected to a benign environment, extensive leisure, and outdoor recreation for more than a century, as well as the unique aura of Hollywood-related celebrities. Due to immigration, it is a city of remarkable ethnic and racial diversity, and like other world cities, it represents a growing divide between rich and poor. Nearly half of the county is taken up by mountain chains with a complex history of earthquakes, firestorms, and mudslides, most of them running east-west. Since 1953, California has had 284 federally designated disasters, making it the nation's most natural catastrophe-prone U.S. territory. One of the catastrophes is the wildfires in Los Angeles. Below is a map showing the county of Los Angeles.

History of Wildfires in Los Angeles, California

California has dealt with wildfires for a while now. They have become more popular, widespread, and destructive in recent years. Climate change is considered as one of the causes of the fires. Until the 1870s, wildfires in the mountains of the north of Los Angeles (as today, often accidentally or intentionally human-caused) were considered more of an attraction than a danger, particularly at night. They were fondly described as the Sierra Madre’s tongues of flame licking. Since fewer people were living in or near the mountains, there was no great concern caused by fires up until 1884 when flooding from eroded hillsides wiped out the track system of the southern Pacific Railroad in the Los Angeles area. By the late 1800s, when fires and floods caused by erosion increasingly threatened land, Angelenos lost their love for beautiful wildfires and commanded a fire clampdown.

Annual Number of Acres Burned in Wildland Fires, 1980-2019 in the United States (Facts + Statistics: Wildfires, 2020).

In the year 1919, two separate fires occurred in the Angeles National Forest. The two blazes were named “Big Fire of 1919”. The first fire ignited on the 12th of September in the San Gabriel Canyon burnt an area approximating 60,000 acres. The second fire was kindled in the Tujunga Canyon, to the west of the San Gabriel Canyon, approximately burning 75,000 acres on the 15th of September the same year. In 1924 in the Angeles forest in the San Gabriel Canyon north of Monrovia, another fire was ignited on the 31st of August, destroying 49,421 acres.

On the 23rd of October, 1935, in Malibu Latigo, Sherwood, another fire was experienced altogether, destroying 28,599 acres. In September 1970, at Newhall to Chatsworth, Simi Valley, a vast fire occurred, destroying 86 structures, 105,212 acres, and had four fatalities. Another fire struck out at the Angeles National Forest, Flintridge, in August 2009, burning 160,577 acres and destroying 209 structures, causing two firefighters. Moreover, in 2018 November southeast Ventura County to Malibu, Los Angeles County, a wildfire ensued, destroying 1643 structures (1,121 in L.A County) and led to 3 fatalities. On the 6th of September, the Bobcat fire befell the Angeles National Forest, from north of Monrovia to Juniper Hills, wrecking 170 buildings, of which 87 were residences and 115,796 acres of forest land. The Bobcat fire is one of the most massive fires, having scorched over 100,000 acres of the forest.

A home burns as the sun sets behind smoke and flames during the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, California (Vercammen & Silverman, 2020).

Risk of Wildfires in Los Angeles, California

Lightning strikes, sparks during arid times, volcanoes' eruptions, and human-made fires resulting from intentional arson or incidents are the most common causes of fires. Recent research analyzed 760 million acres of fire risk in the American West using variables such as slope, vegetation, and historical weather data, finding more than 500 small communities with an even more significant wildfire potential than Paradise. Factors such as evacuation restrictions, the proportion of elderly or disabled people, warning systems, and the number of mobile homes that could increase human casualties during these fires were also analyzed by the researchers (Matthew, 2019). The details indicated that most L.A. communities were at risk. However, a few areas, including Topanga and several towns in the San Gabriel Mountain's foothills, were very much red.

Topanga is a hilly tree-strewn community with a fire hazard potential of 4.05 out of 5. The "evacuation limit," which is determined by comparing the number of households with the main exit routes, is 240, higher than the 110.0 medians. The numbers of elderly and disabled people in Topanga are also fairly typical, but the city has an increased number of residents (13.4 percent) residing in mobile home parks, including Paradise. Mobile homes pose a much greater risk of fires because of their close spacing and frequently flammable building materials (Freedman et al., 2020). According to a report, 37 of the 85 campfire deaths were mobile home residents. Additionally, the five cities at the foothill of San Gabriel are also susceptible to fire, with Monrovia being the most prone. This shows the risk of fire hazard likely to face communities living in Los Angeles, California, and the height of danger encountered.

Consequences of the Los Angeles Wildfires

Wildfires emit dangerous contaminants into the environment, such as particulate matter and poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and organic compounds that are not methane. Beyond those who experience direct effects, wildfires can cause displacement, tension, and anguish for people who have to escape them (Hagelberg, 2020).

Acres Burned by Month and Decade for all Fires in California (Buechi, Cameron, Heard, Platinga, & Weber).

Smoke from the Los Angeles fires might lead to lung diseases and heart illnesses. According to doctors' reports, the smoke from the wildfires is far much more fatal than those from industries or vehicles. Additionally, the smoke can significantly damage the livers and kidneys, disrupt residents' immune systems, or change the genetic makeup of other individuals affecting more across generations. Moreover, the global concern on climate change makes the matter even worse as it continues to drive steep increases in land burning (Kodas & Nieves, 2020). Consequently, the smoke from the fire travels across states extending their effects, making it dangerous to neighboring communities and the entire country.

For instance, When the Northern California town of Paradise was burned out by a wildfire two years ago, smoke from the fire settled 90 miles away in Sacramento. The air quality there was as harmful as smoking ten cigarettes a day. In 2016, people over 65 had 2.5 times at the relative risk of dying in a fire instead of the general population. More so, persons with disabilities are at greater risk. Wildfires are incredibly daunting for those struggling with poverty, who could have a stricter time evacuating and whose financial straits may be compounded by a catastrophe. This is similar to the communities in Los Angeles exposed to social vulnerabilities. Furthermore, a fire hazard can lead to soil and water contamination due to the burial of debris and air particles, leading to health-related issues and other adverse effects such as poisoning.

Top 10 Counties with Highest Estimated Structure Value Loss for SRA Fires, by Decade (Buechi, Cameron, Heard, Platinga, & Weber).

How is the Hazard Currently Addressed?

Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on responding to the Northern California fires with local, state, and federal partners. The EPA's position in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Butte, and Fresno counties is to lead the survey, collection, and disposal of household hazardous waste (HHW). This work sets the stage for removing ash and other non-hazardous material by other state and federal agencies. For the commencement of the reconstruction process, a contact person for the same is Katherine Jenkins.

Consequently, for long-term purposes, the city has put together a planning team aided by a multiple risk map (MHM) to evaluate all vulnerability and risk factors. It increases the chance that the information will be used in the decision-making phase by promoting threat information analysis. MHM's main aim is to collect the various hazard-related data for a study area in one map to convey a composite image of natural hazards of varying severity, frequency, and location of impact. The tool additionally assists in mitigating other threats and in the planning of emergency funds.

How could the Hazard be Better Addressed?

The wildfire could be properly contended by improving the current MHM plan as the plan is limited to project engineering design activities. Its generality is limited to site-specific and hazards specific needs. Additionally, scientific or hazard-specific information should be broken down to a layman language to increase comprehension and reduce the data's technicalities. This will minimize or avoid the loss of the information collected during planning due to ignorance. Since most communities living around Los Angeles or California are generally diverse, a common and more straightforward language should also be used to relay some of the ways of dealing with a fire hazard in case it occurs. Besides, since the region is densely populated, better structures should be put up and more roads to allow accessibility during the evacuation process. This will help reduce fatalities as the communities in the area would be able to escape from the disaster from additional help arrives.

Conclusion

California is prone to fire hazards recorded from way back in 1953. It is also among the top states in the United States with disasters. Fire hazards do not only affect a specified area, but the effects are felt far and beyond states and can impact the whole country for many generations to come. The wildfires trigger health issues such as lung and heart failures.