Wildfire Spreading Capacities of Vegetated Surfaces Within the Metropolitan Region of Northwestern Türkiye

The main objective of this study is to assess the wildfire spreading capacity of the vegetated surfaces within the inter-metropolitan area in northwestern Türkiye. The study utilizes the WSCI model recently adapted for the WUI scale. The model considers 16 criteria about the anthropogenic, geophysical, fuel, and hydro-meteorological factors. All analysis steps are performed in QGIS by utilizing various open-source geospatial data providing information about each criterion. The results highlight certain hotspots of significant wildfire spreading risk among the vegetated surfaces within the study area. Furthermore, there is a considerable amount of man-made structures within WUI that are potentially exposed to relatively high levels of wildfire risk. The results presented in this study could be of assistance to the institutions that are responsible for wildfire management within the inter-metropolitan area. As wildfire behavior ignores administrative boundaries, cross-boundary supervision by neighboring municipalities is crucial for effective wildfire management. The method presented here is reproducible in other inter-metropolitan regions in developing countries, where the intensification of urbanization in WUI generates high levels of wildfire exposure.