Using Remote Sensing Data and Raster Analysis Tools to Assess Fire Hazard Severity in South-Central British Columbia

Two models were built to achieve this, taking into account commonly used variables employed to assess fire hazard severity around the world. To identify potential differences in hazard assessment, the models weighted these variables differently from one another. Fire location points from the year 2000 to 2021 were overlayed with each respective model output.

Model 1 spatially overlapped with 73.88% of these fires, while model 2 spatially overlapped with 74.35%. These results can help identify areas of elevated hazard under ideal burning conditions, inform deployment of emergency services and resources, and provide a framework for using a GIS to conduct a fire hazard landscape assessment. Datasets associated and created to complete analysis employed in this research project.