Hazard - Forest Fire

A destructive fire that spreads via trees and forest. Flames and heat from burning vegetation can damage buildings and infrastructure. Increased incidence of fire weather due to confluence of days with higher temperatures, high wind speeds and drier conditions.

The forest fire model takes into account fire weather (with a climate change signal), maximum wind speed and vapour pressure deficit (VPD), the difference between the absolute humidity and the water vapour saturation point for a given temperature, ground fuel mapping, and ground fuel attenuation.

Forest fires can destroy buildings and infrastructure through direct flame or intense radiant heat. Assets considered to be at risk are those under or surrounded by trees, or close enough to trees to be affected by intense thermal radiation should the forest catch on fire. Grass fires are also a potential risk but are not covered by this analysis.