Open data application to evaluate exposure of wildfire to water resources: A case study in Johor, Malaysia

Abstract

Climate change impacts wildfire events as well as water availability. Exposure of water resources to wildfire can reduce water quality supplied to humans and resulting health problems. On the other hand, water resources such as rivers and ponds are essential in wildfire firefighting. This paper intended to assess spatially the exposure of water resources to wildfire. A case study in Johor, Malaysia is utilised to asses and determine locations of water bodies in an area which are vulnerable to wildfire. Post wildfire runoff water can contaminate water resources. Fire data collected by MODIS from 2000-2020 are used to create a hotspot map. Water resources and waterbody data originated from Department of Surveying and Mapping Malaysia used to identify the stream and dams that are exposed to wildfire. 5 class exposure level has been set to show the degree of closeness of water resources to wildfire hotspot area. Using the spatial analysis method, low to high level of potential wildfire-water exposures were able to be locate. Analysis shows, 7% of Johor's water sources is exposed to medium levels of wildfire, while just 1% is exposed to the highest levels. The majority of the streams have very low levels of exposure. In addition, the wildfire-water exposure map aids in first respondent preparedness and planning.