Forest Fire Risk Analysis

ABSTRACT Southern Europe suffers from forest fires. The management of these disasters is of importance to both government authorities and the public. This article presents the results of a research project aimed at modeling forest fire events and producing fire risk maps. The mathematical model is embedded in an ArcView Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The interface is in Visual C++ 6.0. The thematic and individual risk maps generated are merged into an integrated risk map. The assessment platform (model, GIS, data, decision support) was applied to the area of northern Evia Island, central Greece, using five different scenarios. The platform provides a tool for use by authorities to estimate risks for forest fire management. The model was specifically adapted for the Olympic Games of 2004, Athens, Greece.