Landscape Fire Risk Assessment and Data Management
The Law on Forests mandates the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Economy (MAFWE) to establish and maintain an information system for recording forest fires. This system aims to enhance forest fire monitoring. The specific procedures and conditions for recording forest fires are outlined in the Regulations (Regulations on Data Collection Methods, Forest Fire Register Maintenance, and Data Usage Conditions, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia number 82/2015).
As per the 2015 Rulebook, each fire is documented within the Macedonian Forest Fire Information System (MAKFFIS). Various stakeholders in forest and fire management, both at regional and national levels, input data into this system. The State Inspectorate for Forestry and Hunting verifies the data’s accuracy, ensuring compliance with regulations enacted in 2015.
MAKFFIS is accessible to the public, offering basic information on forest fire situations in North Macedonia. Detailed information is reserved for institutions and stakeholders closely involved in forest and wildfire management. Presently, over 500 users from different organizations have access to MAKFFIS.
This system incorporates several tools for monitoring and assessing forest fire risk, including:
- Daily prediction of forest fire danger with a hotspot map.
- Daily monitoring of forest vegetation exposure, including a vegetation map.
- Forest vulnerability tracking, featuring a vegetation dryness map and a daily Fire Weather Index (FWI) map.
Daily 24.10.2023 Fire weather index (FWI)
Daily (24.10.2023) Vegetation dryness map (From red – very high to green low dryness level)
- Capacity and resource monitoring of institutions, complemented by topographic maps, facility maps, infrastructure maps, and resource maps.
The system sources input data for fire risk assessment primarily through automatic connections with other systems:
- Hotspot and vegetation dryness maps are generated automatically using satellite imagery from SEVIRI and MODIS satellites.
- Fire index maps, reflecting wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, and rainfall, are obtained from automatic meteorological stations of the HMRC.
- Topographic and other maps are sourced from the Real Estate Cadastre Agency.
- Data on forest vegetation, encompassing forest types, age, diameter, wood mass, etc., are entered by PE “National Forests.”
Following each fire incident, PENF subsidiaries are obligated to electronically complete a statistical sheet (wildfire record) within eight days of extinguishing the fire. This record includes:
- Location details.
- Time of occurrence.
- Fire localization and extinguishment.
- Reasons and conditions for the fire.
- Human and material resources employed for extinguishing.
- Extinguishing tactics used.
- Data on victims and damage.
By inputting data from these statistical sheets, a forest fire history map is generated. Given MAKFFIS’s crucial role in prevention, early warning, and monitoring of forest fires, it is imperative for all relevant institutions to utilize the system and routinely update data on past fire incidents.