Elaboration of a wild fire hazard model for the Eparchy of Pylias (SW-Messinia, Greece) based upon remote sensing and GIS

A hazard model for fire spreading is set up for the Eparchy of Pylias (SW-Messinia, Greece) based upon a combined and integrated research using remote sensing and GIS. The basic information for this study are the statistics about the fire history of the region for the period 1978-1993. Prior to the modelling, a thematic study is performed for the different influencing factors (vegetation, topography, accessibility, influence of tourism, proximity to waste dumps). Using the GIS, the relationship between the occurrence of wild fires, as well for the ignition as for the growth of the fire and the influencing factors is searched for. Out of these results, thematic hazard functions are defined. Applying the hazard function, each thematic map is transformed into a thematic hazard map. The final hazard maps are obtained by combining the different thematic hazard maps. The resulting maps can be of great benefit for the understanding of the fire problem and will offer a more effective control of the wild fires.