Attachment C - Bushfire Management Plan · 132008.1128.04

                                                                 Retirement Living & Aged Care Facility
                                                                        Grasstree Court, Sunrise Beach


6           Site-based Bushfire Hazard Assessment
6.1         Methodology
The following assessment was carried out in accordance with the broad methodology underpinning
AS3959 – Construction of Buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas, in the absence of any State-based or
locally-applicable site assessment guidelines.

A range of instruments have been utilised to perform a desktop analysis to complement available
site data. These instruments include:

     •    Original LandGraphics BMP dated 2008;

     •    RPS Bushfire Peer Review Report dated 2016;

     •    Local and State bushfire hazard mapping;

                o     New Methodology for State-wide Mapping of Bushfire Prone Areas in Queensland;

                o     Estimating the Potential Bushfire Hazard of Vegetation Patches and Corridors: An
                      enhancement of Queensland’s methodology for State-wide mapping of bushfire
                      prone areas

     •    Ecological project data;

     •    State-based vegetation (RE) mapping;

     •    Proposal plans and supporting documentation, etc.;

     •    Vegetation management and landscaping plans;

     •    Aerial imagery;

     •    QFES Catalyst Fire Management System;

     •    State Planning Policy: Natural Hazards, risk and resilience – bushfire guidance material;

     •    Bushfire Resilient Communities Guideline; and

     •    AS3959-2018 – Construction of Buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas.

A site inspection was undertaken on Wednesday 26 September 2018 under fine, fire season weather
conditions. At the time of this site inspection, preceding rainfall had been low to moderate with
temperatures not dissimilar to typical early winter averages.

6.2         Fire Weather
In terms of assessment methodology, it is noted the Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) adopted by
AS3959-2018 for Queensland is 40 with a flame temperature of 1,090k. However, recent research has
determined the fire weather in South East Queensland is higher than that identified under AS3959-
2018. The State Planning Policy mapping methodology developed by CSIRO identifies this area of
South East Queensland as subject to an FFDI ranging between 40 and 50. The QFES Catalyst portal
indicates an estimated 1 in 20 year FFDI for this area of South East Queensland at approximately 48,
which was also canvassed by RPS in its 2016 Bushfire Peer Review reporting submitted to Council
with the approval extension request. To this end, an FFDI of 48 is adopted for the purposes of this
assessment. This remains higher than the FFDI adopted by AS3959-2018.

In considering the above, it is important to understand the frequency of more extreme fire weather
days in South East Queensland. The number of days per decade on which an FFDI of 50 (Severe) is
exceeded is 11.7 days, and an FDI of 75 (Extreme to Catastrophic) is exceeded only 0.9 days of
each decade (Lucas, 2007). The influence of climate change may alter these statistics into the



Status: Final                                                                                    July 2020
Project No.: 18-030                                                                               Page 26