Korea Forest Service Strengthens Wildfire Suppression Capabilities with Helicopters and Implements Comprehensive Wildfire Prevention Measures

A wildfire suppression helicopter is conducting wildfire suppression activities in the air. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service is enhancing its wildfire prevention and response capabilities this year by strengthening wildfire suppression power, including the introduction of a new super-large helicopter and the replacement of aging vehicles.

On the 19th, the Korea Forest Service announced the "2022 K-Wildfire Prevention Comprehensive Plan" at the Government Complex Daejeon. The comprehensive plan consists of five major strategies and 16 key tasks.

The core of the comprehensive plan is to strengthen preemptive prevention activities according to the causes of wildfires, which are trending larger and year-round, and to focus capabilities on wildfire response based on scientific technology.

To this end, the Korea Forest Service plans to operate 300 wildfire prevention task forces nationwide at central and regional levels this year and establish 22 wildfire response centers in key city, county, and district areas across the country to enable rapid initial response.

In particular, this year, one super-large helicopter will be newly introduced and deployed, 90 aging wildfire command and suppression vehicles will be replaced, and about 22,000 firefighting personnel, including special wildfire suppression teams, will be mobilized to have the capacity for proactive wildfire response.

Measures for wildfire prevention activities by cause will also be promoted. To prevent arson by visitors, which is identified as a major cause of wildfires, entry controls will be strengthened in wildfire-prone areas based on big data, while existing analog or aging wildfire surveillance cameras and other equipment will be replaced to minimize surveillance blind spots.

The cooperation system among related agencies to eradicate burning-related wildfires, which account for a significant portion of wildfire causes, will also be strengthened. By linking support projects for farming and mountain villages from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, flammable materials such as agricultural by-products will be removed in advance to block illegal burning, and the burning permit system within or adjacent to forests will be abolished to fundamentally prevent illegal burning, according to the Korea Forest Service’s plan.

Wildfire prevention and response measures considering regional characteristics will also be pursued. For example, in the Gangwon East Coast area, which recently suffered large wildfire damage, two ICT prevention platforms, including intelligent (smart) CCTV and wildfire detection sensors, will be expanded (from 4 to 6 locations) to strengthen surveillance capabilities, and environmental conditions will be prepared to minimize wildfire damage through wildfire prevention forest cultivation and the creation of fire-resistant forest belts (wildfire defense).

Additionally, when wildfires occur, the Korea Forest Service explained that it will maximize efficiency in on-site suppression through proactive firefighting activities and differentiated strategies.

To strengthen on-site firefighting capabilities, the Korea Forest Service will first select and deploy about 9,600 wildfire prevention specialized firefighting teams dedicated to wildfire prevention and initial suppression.

In particular, in preparation for nighttime wildfires and wildfires in urban areas, the "Wildfire Disaster Special Suppression Team" and "Drone Wildfire Suppression Team" will be operated on a metropolitan scale. Previously, the Korea Forest Service piloted six drone wildfire suppression teams last year. Based on this, the drone wildfire suppression teams will be expanded to 10 teams this year and dispersed across six national forest aviation management offices for full-scale operation.

Also, at wildfire sites where multiple firefighting helicopters are deployed, the Korea Forest Service’s firefighting helicopter will serve as an aerial command vehicle to direct safe firefighting activities and increase suppression efficiency through formation flying.

Choi Byung-am, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, “This year as well, the Korea Forest Service will focus on wildfire prevention and damage minimization by strengthening the cooperation system with regional wildfire management agencies and related organizations centered on the Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters,” adding, “We ask for the public’s interest and active participation in wildfire prevention activities to protect our safety from wildfires.”

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