Half of Forest Fires Occur Concentratedly from February to April... Increasing Trend in Casualties

79% of Forest Fire Deaths in the Past 5 Years Occurred Among Elderly Aged 70 and Above, Special Caution Needed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety urged special caution on the 18th to prevent forest fires caused by burning rice field and farmland ridges or agricultural by-products ahead of the farming season.

According to the Ministry, although the number of forest fires caused by burning rice field and farmland ridges or trash in mountains and fields has decreased recently, casualties are on the rise. From 2015 to 2019, a total of 13,814 forest fires occurred, resulting in 68 deaths and 400 injuries. Notably, 9 out of 10 casualties were aged 50 or older, and 78.8% of the deceased were aged 70 or above.

Most forest fires are caused by carelessness (12,449 cases), among which burning agricultural by-products such as chili pepper stalks or trash accounts for 34.0% (4,235 cases out of 12,449), cigarette butts 22.6% (2,808 cases), and burning rice field and farmland ridges 22.3% (2,773 cases).

To prevent damage from fires, agricultural waste such as vinyl should never be burned but collected and disposed of properly, and agricultural by-products like chili pepper stalks and soybean stalks must not be burned but collected jointly for disposal. If burning is necessary, it should be conducted collectively after obtaining permission from the local government forestry department at the village level.

Unauthorized burning of rice field and farmland ridges or trash is illegal and can lead to severe penalties such as fines, imprisonment, or other punishments if it spreads to a forest fire.

Kim Jong-han, Director of the Prevention and Safety Policy Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “Many casualties occur from setting fires in rice fields and farmland ahead of the spring farming season.” He added, “Especially as rural areas are aging, there are many unfortunate accident reports involving elderly people. Taking this opportunity to call your farming parents to remind them about forest fire prevention is also a good method.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.