Gyeongbuk Province Receives 'Best' Rating from Korea Forest Service for Spring Wildfire Prevention... Recognized for Minimizing Wildfire Damage in Andong and Yecheon

Director Choi Young-sook of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office of Environment, Forest, and Resources is taking a commemorative photo with employees after receiving the top award for wildfire prevention evaluation.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 22nd that it was selected as the "Best Institution" in the "2021 Spring Wildfire Prevention Excellence Evaluation" hosted by the Korea Forest Service on the 20th.

The Korea Forest Service evaluates 15 metropolitan local governments in five areas: ▲wildfire prevention ▲wildfire prevention publicity ▲wildfire response ▲wildfire prevention cooperation, and selects excellent institutions.

Gyeongbuk Province was recognized for securing the safety of residents and minimizing forest damage through rapid initial response to the large wildfires that occurred in the Andong and Yecheon areas in April this year. At that time, 21 wildfire extinguishing helicopters, 1,200 wildfire specialized firefighters, and 2,580 wildfire watchers were operated organically, enabling three-dimensional response both on the ground and in the air, earning praise as a model case of large wildfire extinguishing.

Also, during the highest wildfire vulnerability period from March to May, the Wildfire Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters was switched to an emergency system and operated daily until 10 p.m., maintaining a wildfire prevention posture without gaps.

By concurrently operating the "Wildfire Prevention Regional Responsibility System," which designates senior officials from the provincial government as wildfire officers for 23 cities and counties, efforts were made not only to raise residents' awareness of wildfires but also to fully commit to wildfire prevention and response.

Choi Young-sook, Director of the Environment and Forest Resources Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, "The reason our province was able to be selected as the best institution is thanks to the interest and efforts of not only public officials but also wildfire watchers, firefighters, and all residents in wildfire prevention. We will continue to do our best to prevent wildfires."

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