"No Wildfires" ... Changwon Special City, 'Full Effort for Spring Wildfire Response'

Wildfire Caution Period Set Until May 15
All-Out Efforts to Protect Citizens' Lives and Property

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has designated the period until May 15 as the wildfire caution period, focusing all efforts on protecting citizens' lives and property from wildfire disasters and preserving forest resources.

With the arrival of spring, outdoor activities such as full-scale farming preparations, hiking, and outings increase, raising the risk of wildfires. In fact, among the 13 wildfires that occurred in Changwon from 2022 to 2024, 9 cases (about 70%) happened between February and May.

Wildfire Suppression Team Firefighting Training.

Accordingly, the city will expand the operating hours of the wildfire countermeasure headquarters and strengthen response capabilities through emergency duty and maintaining communication networks with related organizations. In particular, it plans to focus on supporting the safe disposal of farming by-products and waste, which have been identified as major causes of wildfires.

◆ Expanded Operation of Spring Wildfire Countermeasure Headquarters

On the 19th, the city held a ‘Meeting of Related Organizations to Strengthen Spring Wildfire Response Posture’ with related organizations such as fire departments, police, and the forestry cooperative to review wildfire prevention and response systems.

At the meeting, past cases of large wildfires occurring in spring were analyzed, and it was decided to expand the operation of the wildfire countermeasure headquarters to strengthen surveillance and promotional activities in areas adjacent to forests.

Additionally, a command system will be established to ensure that helicopters and firefighting personnel can arrive at the site within the optimal time for firefighting operations when a wildfire occurs, and a firefighting team will be organized for rapid response to nighttime wildfires to ensure an all-out response.

Currently, 28 key locations in Changwon have surveillance cameras installed to detect signs of wildfires. Furthermore, 91 professional firefighting personnel, 131 wildfire monitors, and government firefighting teams are always on standby for wildfire prevention and rapid response. In each eup, myeon, and dong, 282 general monitors selected independently are deployed at major forest hiking trail entrances to conduct surveillance and prevention promotional activities.

◆ Support for Safe Disposal of Farming By-products

The city plans to proactively block risk factors by providing shredding services to prevent illegal burning of farming by-products generated in farmland adjacent to forest areas.

Burning rice paddies, field ridges, and farming by-products in rural areas for pest control has little actual effect on pest management and poses a high risk of spreading into large wildfires. If a wildfire occurs, offenders may face imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million KRW, and if caught lighting fires near forest areas, fines of up to 1 million KRW may be imposed.

Accordingly, the city will promote a ‘Visiting Farming By-product Safe Disposal Support Project,’ where a by-product shredding support team directly visits persimmon farms within the jurisdiction.

◆ Operation of Intensive Collection Period for Farming Waste

To collect farming waste generated from agricultural activities, promote recycling, and prevent wildfires caused by illegal burning, the city will operate the ‘First Half Intensive Farming Waste Collection Period’ until April 30.

During this period, the city plans to conduct intensive collection activities for farming waste such as abandoned agricultural plastic films and pesticide containers in cultivated fields, along with promoting proper separation and disposal methods, the farming waste collection reward system, and recycling activation.

Collection activities will promote proper disposal methods for farming waste through meetings with village heads and encourage participation from local residents, regional agricultural cooperatives, and farming organizations. Additionally, to encourage collection, farmers who bring agricultural plastic films and pesticide containers to community collection centers in villages will receive collection incentives based on recycling grades: 60 to 140 KRW per kilogram for plastic films, 300 KRW per kilogram for glass-type pesticide containers, 1,600 KRW per kilogram for plastic-type containers, and 3,680 KRW per kilogram for bag-type containers.

During the intensive collection period in the second half of last year, 136 tons of farming waste (93 tons of plastic films, 2 tons of pesticide containers, etc.) were collected.

Mayor Hong Nampyo said, “We will mobilize all administrative power to protect citizens’ lives, property, and precious natural environment from wildfire disasters,” and added, “Since most wildfires start from small mistakes and neglect, we ask residents to refrain from lighting fires near forests or bringing fire sources into forest areas.”

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