Korea Forest Service "Early Operation of Spring Wildfire Prevention Period This Month"

This spring's wildfire prevention period will be implemented earlier than usual. This is due to the increased frequency of wildfires nationwide as dry weather continues.

On the 22nd, the Korea Forest Service announced the "2025 National Comprehensive Wildfire Prevention Plan" at the Government Complex Daejeon. The comprehensive plan is based on five key strategies: ▲eliminating wildfire causes and preventing their spread ▲establishing a systematic wildfire preparedness posture ▲operating personnel and expanding resources for rapid response ▲restoring wildfire damage and promoting awareness ▲utilizing advanced scientific technologies.

First, this year, the spring wildfire prevention period will be operated from April 24 to May 15. The Korea Forest Service explained that the period has been moved up (previously from February 1 to May 15) considering recent weather conditions that have increased wildfire occurrences.

During the spring wildfire prevention period, the Korea Forest Service plans to increase the amount of agricultural byproduct shredding from 166,000 tons last year to 201,000 tons this year, focusing the shredding support projects in the first quarter. This reflects the agency's determination to resolve the issue of burning agricultural byproducts, which is identified as a major cause of wildfires, at an early stage.

Additionally, to eliminate blind spots in wildfire monitoring, 100 new unmanned wildfire surveillance cameras will be installed using transmission towers, and the information and communication technology (ICT) platform that uses artificial intelligence to monitor and detect wildfires 24/7 instead of humans will be expanded to strengthen wildfire response capabilities.

Advanced wildfire suppression support equipment, such as wearable robots, will be distributed on-site to ensure the safety of wildfire suppression personnel, and on-site response capabilities will be enhanced through the movement of heavy equipment and the construction of firebreaks.

In particular, to respond quickly to nighttime wildfires, a "rapid response team" will be organized and operated, and 16 multipurpose wildfire suppression vehicles and 3 high-performance wildfire suppression vehicles will be additionally introduced to boost ground wildfire suppression capabilities.

During this spring wildfire prevention period, one large helicopter (M234) and three leased overseas helicopters will also be newly introduced. Furthermore, to ensure smooth water supply for helicopter firefighting, 12 additional mobile water tanks will be added, expanding the total to 89, according to the Korea Forest Service.

Im Sang-seop, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, "Wildfires are devastating disasters that can take away many things in an instant," adding, "The Korea Forest Service will do its utmost to strengthen wildfire response capabilities during the spring wildfire prevention period to protect the safety and property of the public."

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