Bushfire Hazard Assessment and Management Plan

                                                             Bushfire Hazard Assessment and Management Plan



    •      Step 3: Slope assessment

           Identification of site slope and effective slope, and determination of whether proposed buildings
           are upslope or downslope of hazardous vegetation using Bushfire Hazard Area – Bushfire
           Prone Area – Inputs dataset from the Queensland Government data portal and 1 m LiDAR-
           derived contour data, or relevant Council contour data.

    •      Step 4: Remodeling of bushfire hazard and calculation of potential fireline intensity -
           Where a change to the distribution, extent and/or classification of VHCs within the assessment
           area is proposed, remodeling of bushfire hazard is undertaken to determine how the changes
           to VHCs and associated fuel loads affect potential fireline intensity. Potential fireline intensity is
           to be calculated in accordance with the method outlined in Leonard et. al. (2014).

VHCs and associated potential fuel loads are in accordance with Leonard et al. (2017), as provided in
the BRC Technical Guide and SPP Bushfire APZ width calculator published by the Queensland Fire
and Emergency Services (QFES).

Relevant spatial datasets published by the QFES were accessed via the Queensland Spatial Catalogue
(QSpatial) and the Catalyst Fire Management System (Queensland Fire and Emergency Services,
2020).

3.1.1 Step 1 – Fire Weather Severity

South-east Queensland has a subtropical climate with warm humid summers and mild winters and is
subject to influence from monsoonal climate systems and easterly troughs. Seasonality is not
pronounced; however the ‘wet’ season generally occurs during the December – April period. The fire
danger season usually occurs from spring to mid-summer (August/September to December) with the
greatest danger after a dry winter and spring and when deep, low-pressure systems near Tasmania
bring strong, hot and dry westerly winds to the coastal districts (Bureau of Meteorology, 2021). Severe
bushfire weather is characterised by days with high temperatures over 35 degrees, low relative humidity
and winds from the north to north-west.

The Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) provides an annual accumulated index of fire weather severity (i.e.
the potential danger of a bushfire) based on a combination of vegetation dryness, air temperature, wind
speed and humidity. The relevant FFDI for the site was derived from the Fire Weather Severity (Forest
Fire Danger Index) raster provided as part of the Bushfire Hazard Area – Bushfire Prone Area – Inputs
dataset.

The FFDI for the site and surrounding land is 47.

3.1.2 Step 2 - Vegetation Hazard Classes and Potential Fuel Loads

3.1.2.1 Vegetation Hazard Classes

Different types of vegetation communities determine the rate at which dry fuel accumulates. Some
vegetation communities protect fuel from drying out in all but extreme bushfire seasons and can then
be susceptible to very destructive bushfires. Alternatively, vegetation communities may expose fuels to
drying and therefore be frequently available for burning. Frequent bushfires can result in the
development of bushfire-tolerant grassy woodlands or grasslands and less destructive bushfire
behaviour.




                                                         PR22116_BHAMP_178 Davis Rd, Cootharaba           Page 9