Bushfire Hazard Assessment - 41 Picture Point Cres Carroll and Meyer · RAL22/0021

3.0      BUSHFIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT
3.1      STATE ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY
3.1.1    General
         The Noosa Plan 2020 requires a site-specific bushfire hazard assessment to be undertaken when
         a development site is located within a mapped Bushfire Hazard Area. The site-specific hazard
         mapping required by the Bushfire hazard overlay code is to be prepared consistent with the
         methodology adopted to prepare the SPP mapping.

         The State government have described the methodology used to prepare the SPP mapping in the
         following publications:
         • Natural Hazards, Risk and Resilience –– Bushfire State Planning Policy – state interest guidance
             material (The Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, 2019)
         • Bushfire Resilient Communities. Technical Reference Guide for the State Planning Policy State
             Interest ‘Natural Hazards, Risk and Resilience - Bushfire’ (Queensland Fire and Emergency
             Services, 2019).

         The preparation of a Local Hazard Area Map has been undertaken for the site in accordance with
         the methodology described in the above referenced documents. The input parameters used to
         determine the bushfire hazard acting on the site are detailed in the sections below.

3.1.2    Vegetation Hazard Classes
         Fuel loads are determined when preparing a bushfire hazard assessment. The Queensland Fire
         and Emergency Services (QFES) refers to the process for identifying, classifying and mapping
         vegetation hazard classes as a Vegetation Hazard Class Assessment. In accordance with the
         methodology outlined in Section 6 of the Bushfire Resilient Communities (QFES (2019), the
         following vegetation hazard classes (VHC) were identified within the assessment area (which
         includes a 150m buffer surrounding the location of the subject site):
         • VHC 4.1 – Notophyll and notophyll palm or vine forest which is attributed a combined
             surface/near-surface fuel of 4.5t/ha and a total potential fuel load of 5t/ha; and
         • VHC 42.6 – Nil to very low vegetation cover which is attributed a combined surface/near-
             surface fuel of 1t/ha and a total potential fuel load of 2t/ha.

3.1.3    Maximum Landscape Slope
         The slope of land underlying the surrounding vegetation is steep and estimate at approximately
         30 degrees and falling to the north west.

3.1.4    Forest Fire Danger Index
         The Queensland government produce a publicly available data package which includes selected
         inputs and information used by the CSIRO in conjunction with the QFES to prepare the State-
         wide Bushfire Hazard Area (Bushfire Prone Area) mapping (July 2014). The data includes Fire

5 April 2022                            Mr Kim Carroll and Mrs Heidi Meyer                          Page: 8
Job No. 21-046          Bushfire Hazard Assessment – 41 Picture Point Crescent, Noosa Heads