Korea Forest Service Issues National Crisis Alert for Wildfire Disaster at 'Interest' Level

A wildfire suppression helicopter from the Korea Forest Service is conducting a wildfire disaster response drill in the air. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service issued a national wildfire disaster crisis alert at the "Attention" level at 11 a.m. on the 14th.

This measure reflects the ongoing dry weather warnings in the Gangwon region and the consecutive issuance of nationwide dry and strong wind advisories.

Following the issuance of the wildfire disaster "Attention" alert, the Korea Forest Service is disseminating the wildfire alert to central related ministries, regional wildfire management agencies, and affiliated organizations, while checking cooperation systems with related agencies and promoting wildfire prevention activities.

Additionally, the Forest Aviation Headquarters is confirming the operating hours of wildfire suppression helicopters and planning maintenance. Regional forest-related agencies will operate wildfire situation rooms and conduct emergency duty considering weather conditions.

Go Rak-sam, head of the Wildfire Prevention Division, stated, "In addition to recent weather conditions and wildfire occurrences, factors such as burning of rice paddies and fields in preparation for farming and increased visitors to the mountains have raised the risk of wildfires higher than usual. The Korea Forest Service plans to strengthen its emergency wildfire alert posture considering this high-risk wildfire situation."

Meanwhile, as of the 13th of this month, a total of 35 wildfires have occurred nationwide, causing 17.16 hectares of forest damage. This is 1.75 times higher compared to the previous year.

In January last year, 20 wildfires occurred, resulting in the loss of 15.60 hectares of forest. The 10-year average for January is 11 wildfires and 23.36 hectares of forest damage.

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