Identification and mapping of forest fire risk areas; Antalya-Kaş

Different methods have been tried in fighting forest fires from the past to the present, but no complete success has been achieved so far. Although the developing technology makes it possible to reach, extinguish, and monitor fires in a shorter time, natural events other than the human factor, unfortunately, still reveal sad results in fires. Identification and approach of risk areas that arise as a result of this process; it can be defined as measures that will not threaten social welfare and life by raising the physical environment and social, economic, and cultural life to higher levels. It is important to identify the factors affecting fire formation in order to manage fire. Why, where, when, and how often forest fires occur, information provides us with predictive measures about possible fires in the future. Today, Geographic Information Systems are widely used with the capacity to evaluate the factors that cause fire together while creating forest fire risk maps. The aim of this study is to determine and map the fire risk status of the forests of the Kaş region of Antalya province. As a material, forest lands of the Kaş district of Antalya province, where the risk of fire is very high, were selected. Fire risk areas were determined by determining all layers according to their capacity and susceptibility to cause fires. As cartographic material, Sentinel 2A satellite images with a resolution of 10 m were used, along with topography, vegetation, and land use data. In the ARCGIS 10.8 program, digital elevation model, slope, and aspect maps were created from 1/25000 scale digital topography sheets. The vegetation data were obtained from the stand maps of the Kaş forest management chiefdoms. According to the AHP Method, it was concluded that the high-risk areas for which a fire risk map was created were concentrated in the districts of Gömbe, Cemre, Çavdır, Çeşme, Akörü, Classroomeli, Çamlıköy, and Yaylapalamut, and that the central regions of Gökçeören, İzni, İncebel, Boğazcık, and Kaş were located in the coastal areas of the study area.