Dynamic Fire Danger Mapping from Satellite Imagery and Meteorological Forecast Data

Abstract

This study aims at ascertaining if and how remote sensing data can improve fire danger estimation based on meteorological variables. With this goal in mind, a dynamic estimation of fire danger was performed using an approach based on the integration of satellite information within a comprehensive fire danger rating system. The performances obtained with and without using satellite data were carried out for fires that occurred during the fire season in the year 2003 in the Calabria region (southern Italy). This study area was selected, first, because it is highly representative of Mediterranean ecosystems and, second, because it is an interesting test case for wildfire occurrences within the Mediterranean basin. The results obtained have shown that the use of satellite data reduced efficiently the overestimated danger areas, thus improving at least by 10% the fire forecasting rate obtained without using satellite-based maps. Such findings can be directly extended to other similar Mediterranean ecosystems.