Possible locations for quarantine story?

Cafe Society
1

As a setting for a fictional outbreak of some highly communicable plague, what location in the continental United States would be the best fit for an “Escape From New York”-style quarantine zone meeting the following parameters:

  • The plague is communicable by humans and some species of mammals- not by bats, rodents, ruminants or rabbits fortunately or it would be absolutely uncontainable; but by primates and carnivores: cats, dogs, coyotes, raccoons, skunks. etc. So roadblocks aren’t going to cut it: a continuous quarantine barrier has to be maintained.

  • Given the difficulty of doing this, I presume that this would only be possible on a peninsula largely surrounded by enough water that infected animals are unlikely to make it across. The neck of the peninsula is narrow enough that a sterilization zone can be maintained: electric fences, minefields, persistent chemical agents, IR-activated sentry guns, etc.

  • At least one medium or larger urban area is within the quarantine zone.

So I’m looking at a handful of locations that might fit, but I’m not sure if any plausibly meet the criteria. My short list is Martha’s Vineyard, Long Island, the Delaware peninsula, parts of the North Carolina seaboard, or San Francisco. Any places I haven’t thought of, or would a non-peninsular location be possible?

2

How big an area do you need? Also, what climate were you thinking? You mention an urban area, but do you also need some rural and agricultural area or will supplies be dropped in? I have a couple thoughts, but answers to these questions would help.

3

Catalina Island would work well if you were going for something of a cozy catastrophe feel.

Or perhaps Point Roberts, which has pretty much been experiencing this for real for much of the last two years.

4

Yes. I was thinking Vancouver Island or one of the islands in Puget Sound might be good. Las Vegas might work, or another desert city. You could use the desert as a barrier and reinforce it pretty easily.

I’m being nagged to stop using the internet for now. I’ll post some other thoughts tomorrow.

5

Long Island would totally work if you want to juxtapose the theoretical isoation possible against the logistics of getting an immense number of people and an immense number of possible ways of sneaking past to refrain from doing so. Culturally and politicall as well as geographically.

6

Just about any barrier island along the Gulf or Atlantic coasts would work.

Galveston island might be an interesting one from the standpoint of it’s a city of 50k on an island separated from the mainland by 3/4 mile (or more) in every direction. It’s also got a pair of bridges, one of which has a lift-span bridge (a sort of drawbridge).

7

My first though, although biased by Stirling’s novel, Island in a Sea of Time, was Nantucket Island. Reasonably isolated, designed to handle 50k people around tourist season, and with potentially dramatic enough weather to be an additional natural antagonist in the event of a rushed settlement.