Bushfire Attack Level Toolbox

Brief description

The Bushfire Attack Level Toolbox provides access to ArcGIS geoprocessing scripts that calculate the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) as per Method 1 in AS3959-2009. BAL is a measure of the severity of a building's potential exposure to ember attack, radiant head and direct flame contact. It is defined in AS3959-2009 to serve as a basis for establishing the requirements for construction to improve protection of building elements from attack by bushfire. In the BAL Toolbox, the calculation method (as defined in AS3959-2009) is adapted to be applied spatially. Input information required are a digital elevation model and classified vegetation data. The BAL Toolbox allows users to calculate BAL for small regions, without the need for large computational resources or for executing code in command-line environments. This will provide stakeholders with the ability to efficiently generate rigorous and robust maps of Bushfire Attack Level that adhere to the national standard, compared to products generated by manual techniques. The BAL Toolbox code is written in Python, utilising the ArcGIS "arcpy" module to enable easy reading/writing of raster data and to provide methods for a graphical user interface in the standard ArcGIS tool style. The BAL Toolbox User Guide provides users an overview of the Toolbox, instructions on installation, any customisations execution and evaluation of results.

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned

Statement: The tool will implement the standard in computational code that can be run by non-technical people in ArcGIS. This will provide stakeholders with the ability to efficiently generate rigorous and robust maps of Bushfire Attack Level that adhere to the national standard, compared to products generated by manual techniques. The tool will be applied to compute and map the Bushfire Attack Level ratings for the wildland-urban interface of three communities in Western Australia.