Jeju Fire Department Issues Spring Wildfire Safety Alert

The Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters (Chief Park Geun-oh) announced on the 8th that it has issued a 'Spring Wildfire Safety Accident Advisory' due to the very high risk of wildfire safety accidents caused by the dry spring climate and strong winds.

Over the past five years, there have been a total of 179 wildfire damage incidents, resulting in 5 injuries and property damage amounting to approximately 150 million KRW. It has been analyzed that more than 20 cases occur continuously every year.

By season, 43% (77 cases) of all wildfire safety accidents occurred intensively in the dry spring season (March to May), followed by winter (December to February) at 29.1%, autumn (September to November) at 15.6%, and summer (June to August) at 12.3%.

The most affected area was the eastern region of Seogwipo City (71 cases, 39.7%), followed by the jurisdiction of Seobu Fire Station (53 cases, 29.6%) and Dongbu Fire Station (39 cases, 21.8%), which cover the eup and myeon areas. In terms of property damage, the Seobu eup and myeon area accounted for 32.3% of the total with approximately 50 million KRW, suffering the greatest damage.

In particular, fires caused by carelessness such as burning garbage, leaving embers unattended, and cigarette butts accounted for 86% (154 cases) of the total, with orchards being the most common location at 66.5% (119 cases).

In February last year, a fire occurred in Uigwi-ri, Namwon-eup, Seogwipo City, while burning agricultural by-products and garbage, resulting in the loss of 45 cedar trees, 10 citrus trees, and 30 bags of fertilizer.

In March last year, in Hawon-dong, Seogwipo City, sparks from burning waste wood were blown by the wind, burning 660㎡ of wild grassland, 46 pine trees, and 20 miscellaneous trees, causing damage worth about 2 million KRW. Fires caused by carelessness continue steadily.

The Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters has issued the wildfire safety accident advisory and is strengthening fire prevention publicity by establishing a cooperative system with related organizations. It is continuously promoting safety guidance activities such as removing fire-vulnerable elements and prohibiting burning activities in collaboration with volunteer fire brigades.

A Jeju Fire official said, "Spring is a season with dry weather and strong winds, which increases the risk of large-scale fires, so special caution is required," and added, "We ask everyone to strictly follow wildfire prevention measures so that all residents can enjoy a safe life together."

Jeju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Jeong-pil baekok@asiae.co.kr

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