Appendix F - Bushfire Hazard Assessment

Bushfire Hazard Assessment v1                                                                         NCES REF: J000207
Lot 9 on RP131369 – 216 Black Mountain Road, Black Mountain



3     BUSHFIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT

3.1       Hazard Assessment Methodology
The Noosa Plan’s Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code requires that a site-specific bushfire hazard
assessment be prepared to assess the degree of bushfire hazard on a site captured within a mapped
Designated Bushfire Hazard Area. The SPP Bushfire Prone Area mapping prevails over the Noosa
Bushfire Hazard Area mapping with respect to trigger for assessment under the Noosa Plan’s
Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code. Therefore, the site-specific hazard mapping is to be prepared
consistent with the methodology adopted to prepare the SPP mapping.
The method used to prepare the SPP mapping is described in A new methodology for State-wide
mapping of bushfire prone areas in Queensland (Leonard et al., 2014) which is also referenced in
the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning’s State Planning Policy – Natural
Hazards, Risk and Resilience – Technical Manual – A ‘fit for purpose’ approach in undertaking
natural hazard studies and risk assessments. The preparation of site specific hazard maps is
described in these documents and is referenced as a Local Hazard Area Map. Preparation of a Local
Hazard Area Map has been undertaken using a combination of methodologies from the following
sources:
      •    A new methodology for State-wide mapping of bushfire prone areas in Queensland (Leonard
           et al., 2014) for:
               o   Attribution of Vegetation Hazard Classes;
               o   Calculation of Potential Bushfire Intensity; and
               o   Patch and corridor filtering.
      •    State Planning Policy Guideline – Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of Flood, Bushfire and
           Landslide (June, 2003) which was used as a guide for undertaking natural hazard
           assessment on a site-specific scale; and
      •    The Noosa Plan’s Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code.

3.1.1 Local Hazard Area Map
A Local Hazard Area Map was prepared using the following methodology:
      •    Categorizing the vegetation within the site in accordance with the vegetation hazard classes
           derived from Leonard et al. (2014);
      •    Subdividing the identified vegetation hazard classes into bushfire hazard sub-units based on
           slope differences and vegetation hazard classes (refer to the sub-unit mapping presented as
           Figure 2);
      •    Using the patch and corridor filtering process identified in Leonard et al. (2014) to amend the
           bushfire hazard sub-units1; and
      •    Applying 100m potential intensity buffers to the amended bushfire hazard sub-units to derive
           an overall Local Hazard Map.




1
  The patch and corridor filtering process to remove or downgrade hazard levels of small patches and narrow corridors
involves the following three stages:
      •    Merging small patches of a single Vegetation Hazard Class less than 0.5 ha;
      •    Merging small Vegetation Hazard Class patches between 0.5 and 1 ha with higher or moderate fuel loads (greater
           than 8 tonnes/ha); and
      •    Removing narrow corridors of vegetation less than 100m wide through a process of patch erosion and dilation.
           These small patches are merged with surrounding vegetation by allocating a patch to the Vegetation Hazard
           Class that is most common to the patch boundary (Leonard et al., 2014).



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