Lab 4 Fire Model

      The combination of the digital elevation model (DEM) and land cover analysis used in this lab has introduced me to a new way of analyzing spatial data. Using the DEM shape file provided in the class website, as well as the GIS techniques that i have learned so far; namely, creating slope and reclassification, i was able to create the slope map which shows how susceptible certain areas of the mountain range is to fire. As you may know, the elevation of slope determines the rate of fire spread, therefore using this method to evaluate the hazard level in mountainous areas would allow better precautions to be run in the most efficient places. On the other hand, to create the Land cover map, reclassification took up a large proportion of its creation. I downloaded the land cover data from the FRAP website, and the data include a wide range of different land types, such as agriculture and urban. The reclassify tool allowed me to rank each land type according to their susceptibility to catching fire. As a result, water was classified as 1 because it is the least likely land type to catch fire, while dry wood or shrubs are given a high number as they are vulnerable to fire. Lastly, the largest map on the top left corner is the result of the slope and land cover map combined. With reclassified data, i was able to show different levels of risks within and out of the fire perimeter.

     When creating these maps, it was inevitable to encounter all sorts of problems as this was my first trial of these ArcGIS functions. Some minor problems include the fact that i have always forgotten to check the spatial analyst box under customize; thus, my tools always failed to work. Also, i had a hard time choosing from the vast variety of color ramps; picking one that suits my personal liking and one that will suffice to convey the purpose of the maps was troublesome. A considerably major challenge i encountered was the part where i had to decide what number to assign to each land type in order to reclassify; i first followed the general rankings of the land types on the tutorial which ranked them as light to heavy hazard, and i assigned my ten land types in numeric order. However, i found out later that these numbers can be overlapped according the my own preference and of course basing on the reasonable assumptions that suggest which land cover types fall into which risk level. This lab was a fun experience in the course of this class.