Bushfire Hazard Assessment & Management Plan

Bushfire Hazard Assessment & Management Plan – v2                                    NCES REF: ELK 2016-04
Lot 70 on M37807 – 28 Elkhorn Drive, Tewantin




5.2 Qualitative Hazard Assessment
The vegetation within the site represents limited risk of ignition or potential for transmission of
fire due to the sparseness of the canopy vegetation, the lack of dry shrub ladder fuels and the
lack of surface and near surface fuels. The hazard acting on the site therefore is restricted to
low intensity grassfire risk within the site and potential for impact from off-site forest hazard
sources.

Two immediate off-site hazard sources and a combined landscape scale hazard source
present a degree of bushfire risk to the site. The immediate off-site hazard sources comprise
the Noosa River riparian environs to the east and the eucalypt woodland contained within the
adjoining allotment to the west (i.e. Lot 6/RP149498). The landscape scale hazard source
comprises the extensive Great Sandy National Park open forest vegetation to the east and
north to north-west of the site and the Moorindil Reserve open forest vegetation to the north-
west of the site. Plate 5 depicts the extent and position of the off-site hazard sources acting
on the site.



                                                    Great Sandy NP




                                                                      Site


                            Moorindil Reserve




                    Plate 5 – Available open forest fire pathways (Source: Google Earth)

A narrow, north- south aligned potential fire pathway is present flanking the eastern site
boundary in the form of mixed open eucalypt forest/woodland on the west bank of the Noosa
River. The limited width of the unit at approximately only 40m combined with observed patchy
surface fuel loads due to slope run-off, past clearing and pedestrian traffic act to constrain the
hazard risk of the disturbed bushland unit. The vegetation is bordered by a virtually fireproof
mangrove community and then the Noosa River and therefore has limited opportunity to
transmit fire other than along the bank of the river. The moderate to steep side slope of the
bank exhibits insufficient slope length to significantly influence fire movement.




© 2016                                              12