Integrating Wildfire Susceptibility and Emergency Response Accessibility to Identify Vulnerable High-Risk Zones in Kelowna and West Kelowna, British Columbia

This study examined how spatial modelling of wildfire susceptibility and emergency response time can be integrated to identify vulnerable high-risk zones in Kelowna and West Kelowna, British Columbia. Using ArcGIS Pro, wildfire susceptibility was mapped through a weighted overlay of topographic, vegetation, and climate factors.

Topographic effects were represented by slope and aspect, vegetative fuel conditions by reclassified land cover, and broad meteorological constraints on wildfire potential by summer temperature and precipitation. The resulting composite wildfire risk surface was compared with emergency response time to identify areas where high wildfire susceptibility overlaps with limited access to fire services. Results showed that higher wildfire susceptibility was concentrated on steep south and west-facing slopes, in forested and shrub-dominated areas, and in warmer, drier parts of the study area.