18 Wildfires Nationwide During Seol Holiday... Ongoing Wildfire Risk Due to Dry Weather

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

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] During the Lunar New Year holiday period, 18 wildfires occurred nationwide. The forestry authorities urged wildfire prevention and caution, citing the continued high risk of wildfires due to dry weather.

The Korea Forest Service Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters announced on the 3rd that 18 wildfires occurred mainly in the Yeongnam region, Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province from the 29th of last month to the 2nd of this month.

By region, wildfires were recorded as follows: 4 in Gyeonggi, 4 in Gyeongbuk, 2 in Gangwon, 2 in Ulsan, 1 in Seoul, 1 in Chungnam, 1 in Jeonbuk, 1 in Jeonnam, 1 in Busan, and 1 in Gyeongnam.

By cause of wildfire occurrence, 5 cases were due to arson by visitors paying respects at graves or mountain climbers, the highest number; followed by 3 cases of garbage or field burning, and 3 cases of careless management of fire from wood boilers. The remaining 7 cases are of unknown cause and are under investigation.

The Korea Forest Service believes that the recent prolonged drought and dry weather have contributed to the increased frequency of wildfires.

In fact, the cumulative number of wildfires from the 1st of last month to the 2nd of this month is 90, which is twice the number from the previous year (44 cases) and 2.4 times the average annual number (37 cases) from 2012 to 2021.

Earlier, reflecting the increased wildfire risk, the Korea Forest Service activated the Wildfire Prevention Headquarters early before the Lunar New Year holiday and maintained a 24-hour emergency contact system, focusing on preventing wildfires through rapid situation dissemination among related agencies, support for firefighting resources, and strengthened cooperative response.

Additionally, during the Lunar New Year holiday period, 21 wildfire suppression helicopters and 1,231 firefighting personnel, including the Wildfire Disaster Special Firefighting Team, were deployed to wildfire-affected areas, successfully extinguishing the fires without casualties or damage to houses and other buildings.

Ko Rak-sam, head of the Korea Forest Service Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters, said, “The risk of wildfire occurrence remains high at present,” and added, “Even if a wildfire occurs due to negligence, the perpetrator can be punished under Article 53 of the Forest Protection Act. We ask everyone to pay special attention to wildfire prevention and caution.”

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