blogwaffe

Michelle was off geocaching while I was working on a simple geo visualization project for work and looking up information on the 2009 Station Fire near La Cañada Flintridge and Altadena.

Those three actions in confluence got me thinking about how many geocaches have been affected by the fire.

Map of geocaches likely affected by the 2009 Station Fire. (Click for larger, more up-to-date, interactive map.)

The Los Angeles Times is providing a frequently updated Google map of local fire information which includes approximate fire perimeter (more precise geometry can be found at GeoMAC or InciWeb). With that data, it was fairly straightforward to search for all the geocaches affected. As of today at 2:30pm local time, 228 non-premium geocaches are within the station fire approximate burn area.

Notes for geocachers: The map does not show premium caches, and puzzle caches are assumed to be at their posted coordinates. Archived caches are not shown (though could, in theory, still be in the burn area), but disabled caches are.

While the map is interesting, the loss of a few hundred geocaches is insignificant compared to the destruction of homes. More significant still are the lives that have been lost and those that are still at risk. The fire fighting crews are literally battling the elements to keep us all safe.

I’m not sure what a community that has lost so little in comparison can do, but perhaps a station fire regrowth and memorial geocache offered in thanks and remembrance would be appropriate?

Update [2009-09-01]: The LA Times has updated its fire area geometry. As of 7:53pm local time there are about 180 non-premium geocaches in the burn area.

Update [2009-09-02]: I’m now using the same GeoMAC data InciWeb is using for the burn area geometry.