Assessing Wildfire Vulnerability in the absence of empirical data: the REVEAL Project

Changes in temperature and precipitation in the European Alps are reflected in an increasing number of wildfire events and burnt areas. Therefore, apart from conducting research on the behaviour of wildfires in regions with high fire danger, it is important to analyse the vulnerability of settlements, buildings, and infrastructure also in areas with less experience with the impacts of an increasing wildfire hazard. Studies focusing on the vulnerability of the built environment do exist, but they are mostly limited to the interaction of buildings with fire, rather than offering a tool to measure this vulnerability for planning and conducting risk reduction measures. We attempt to close this gap by assessing the physical vulnerability of elements at risk located at the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) in several case study areas in the Austrian Alps. In the absence of empirical data and by using a co-creation approach, we engage experts from various domains (firefighters, managers, planners, and government officials) to develop a tool for wildfire risk management. The tool is based on indicators to assess the vulnerability of different characteristics of elements at risk, including residential buildings, hotels, industry, critical infrastructure, and cultural heritage. Applications in each case study area are designed to demonstrate the usability of the tool in various disaster risk reduction activities and different contexts with a high or low wildfire danger. A final workshop is planned to ensure the dissemination of the results in the entire wildfire community. The resulting REVEAL decision support tool should be applicable not only in other regions of Austria, but also in other European regions that do not have experience and empirical data related to the impacts of wildfire events on infrastructure.