Management of Low Volume Roads: A Decision Support Tool for Sustainable Wildfire Prevention and Maintenance Resources Allocation Via GIS-Network Analysis

This study presents a GIS-based decision support system (DSS) for prioritizing forest road network maintenance to enhance wildfire prevention and suppression in Mediterranean forest regions. The research focuses on low-volume roads (LVRs), which play a critical role in fire response operations but often suffer from limited maintenance resources and accessibility constraints. Using GIS-based network analysis, the study integrates road hierarchization, wildfire risk modeling, and optimal route determination to develop a structured approach for forest road maintenance prioritization. The methodology involves segmenting and evaluating road networks based on travel time, slope, and fire risk exposure, enabling a data-driven ranking system that identifies critical access routes for emergency response. The study applies the Closest Facility method to determine optimal routes from firefighting vehicle stations to various locations within the network. Results indicate that a targeted maintenance strategy, prioritizing high-risk road sections, significantly improves fire response efficiency while optimizing resource allocation in financially constrained forest management frameworks. This approach introduces a sustainable and cost-effective framework for forest road infrastructure planning, offering a practical tool for decision-makers in fire-prone regions. By ensuring proactive maintenance scheduling, the proposed method enhances wildfire resilience, reduces emergency response delays, and supports long-term forest sustainability.