Chaparral Forest Fire Dies Down

Jack Foster p3
Published by Associated Press,September 6, 2012
www.Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/2012/09/06/rain-aids-battle-against-california-forest-fire/InBkW4rQDkTmAfdYOqFneM/story.html
Summary:Remnants of a tropical storm helped put out a 4,180-acre fire northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains.There has not been a fire in this area for a while, but this fire was contained greatly by the favorable weather and hard work.The fire was stopped by the south eliminating the threat to the local residents.The small community in that area was evacuated but can now return because there is no danger anymore.Some thought that the moist air from the tropical storm would cause lightning and make the fire worse but that was not the case.Nearly 1,300 firefighters were needed to contain the fire. A 25% of thunderstorms followed but there were none. This low pressure system was the end of the tropical storm and a high pressure system was predicted to come in soon after.The firefighters have yet to find the original cause of the fire but have found a burned car that could have started it. Over labor day 12,000 people were asked to evacuate and only a few brave souls refused and stayed in their homes.

Connection:We learned about biomes in class and Chaparral was one of the many biomes that we learned of. Chaparrals are very susceptible to wildfires and this is proof of it. Because of their vulnerability to wildfires it can make it difficult to put out the fire. This is why other natural disasters can actually help others even though they have a reputation of destroying rather than helping. Because of a tropical storm the fire was reduced greatly and the firefighters took the rain from the storm as a huge advantage to further surround and contain the fire. Because of this fire secondary successions occurs because new species can be found in this are but he soil is still intact. This can lead to new life and new possibilities in the area.