Gyeonggi Fire Department Reports 70% of Mountain and Field Fires Occur Between February and April...Caused by Negligence

A firefighter is extinguishing a forest fire. Photo by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters

In the past three years, wildfires and grass fires in the Gyeonggi region have been concentrated between February and April.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters stated that negligence accounts for 89.5% and 95.3% of the causes of wildfires and grass fires, respectively, urging special caution.

According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 28th, a total of 834 forest fires occurred in Gyeonggi Province over the past three years, including 496 wildfires and 38 grass fires.

By year, there were 371 cases in 2020, 173 in 2021, and 290 in 2022. Additionally, 2 people died and 30 were injured during this period due to wildfires and grass fires.

By month, wildfires were most frequent in April (148 cases), March (98 cases), and February (75 cases). A total of 64.7% of all wildfires occurred between February and April. Grass fires occurred most in March (105 cases), April (81 cases), and February (65 cases), with 74.3% of all grass fires happening during the same period.

Regarding causes, negligence accounted for 444 cases of wildfires, representing 89.5% of the total. Grass fires also recorded 322 cases due to negligence, making up 95.3% of the total.

For both wildfires and grass fires caused by negligence, cigarette butts were the most common cause (wildfires 46.6%, grass fires 30.1%). Following that, wildfires were frequently caused by garbage burning (77 cases), while grass fires were mainly due to burning of rice paddies and forests (78 cases) and garbage burning (57 cases).

Cho Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, emphasized, "Forest fires are concentrated in the spring, and most fires are caused by negligence. Based on this analysis, we will do our best to create a fire-free Gyeonggi Province by strengthening preventive patrols, especially in areas prone to forest fires."

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