Repeated Wildfires on the East Coast... Korea Forest Service Announces "Inter-Ministerial Prevention Measures"

The Korea Forest Service has announced the ‘East Coast Wildfire Prevention Measures’ in preparation for severe weather such as strong winds. These prevention measures were established following the president’s directive on the 17th of last month to “systematically prepare wildfire prevention policies for the East Coast, which occur repeatedly every year.”

The prevention measures primarily focus on strengthening wildfire response capabilities to prevent wildfires, like the one that rapidly spread due to strong winds in Gangneung on the 11th of last month, from threatening the entire East Coast area.

Firefighting special task force members are extinguishing remaining embers at a wildfire site where the main fire suppression has been completed. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

With participation from multiple government ministries, the three main strategies are ▲ minimizing wildfire occurrences through fundamental prevention measures ▲ early wildfire suppression using scientific monitoring and three-dimensional ground and aerial operations ▲ and scientific damage restoration reflecting residents’ demands.

To minimize wildfire occurrences, prevention measures tailored to wildfire causes such as the burning of agricultural byproducts will be strengthened, along with the removal of wildfire-risk trees and the creation of forests resistant to wildfires.

Additionally, a policy will be introduced to support the collection and shredding of agricultural byproducts by visiting elderly farmers to prevent burning activities near forest areas. Annual inspections of ash disposal facilities for wood boilers will be conducted, and when a strong wind warning (21m/s or higher) is issued, restrictions on fire-related work will be implemented as part of the prevention measures.

Penalties for arson and reckless fire-setting on others’ forest property, which previously carried a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment, will be strengthened to a minimum of seven years imprisonment.

Furthermore, efforts will focus on eliminating wildfire causes by clearing wildfire-risk trees near large-scale power transmission lines (within a 1.5m radius of utility poles) or replacing them with shorter trees, and implementing preventive measures around power lines.

To enhance wildfire monitoring and early suppression capabilities, the Korea Forest Service plans to expand the pilot project of the ‘Intelligent Wildfire Prevention Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Platform’ to the entire East Coast region and explore establishing a wide-area wildfire monitoring system using the agricultural and forestry satellite scheduled for launch in 2025.

In particular, the Korea Forest Service explained that it aims to strengthen wildfire suppression capabilities under severe weather conditions by expanding firefighting resources prepared for strong winds, concentrating the installation of wildfire suppression forest roads in the East Coast area, deploying more high-performance wildfire suppression vehicles, and expanding the specialized ‘Wildfire Disaster Special Suppression Unit.’

For areas where wildfires have already occurred, emergency logging and measures to prevent soil erosion and landslides will be completed before the rainy season (June) to prevent secondary damage. The Korea Forest Service also emphasized that it will promptly proceed with species selection, reforestation restoration, and ecological restoration by collecting and reflecting residents’ opinions.

Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, stated, “We will make every effort to ensure effective wildfire response through inter-ministerial cooperation in line with the trend of year-round and large-scale wildfire occurrences. In particular, we will set detailed tasks with the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to ensure that the prevention measures are effectively applied on the ground.”

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