Sokcho City Achieves Zero Wildfires for Seven Consecutive Years Since the 2019 Major Wildfire

Establishing a Public-Private-Military Cooperation System
All-Out Wildfire Prevention Efforts
Through Proactive Response Measures

Sokcho City in Gangwon Province has concluded the 2026 spring wildfire prevention period without a single wildfire incident, achieving zero wildfires for the seventh consecutive year through proactive measures.

Drone surveillant. Provided by Sokcho City

As of May 9, 2026, a total of 42 wildfires had occurred in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, resulting in 18.05 hectares of forest damage. However, Sokcho City was the only area in the province with zero wildfire incidents.

This achievement is attributed to proactive prevention activities and an on-site response system that effectively blocked the occurrence of wildfires.

On January 22, the city established its largest-ever wildfire response collaboration system, involving public, private, and military sectors. Participants included Sokcho Police Station, Sokcho Fire Station, Yangyang National Forest Management Office, Seoraksan National Park Office, the 22nd Infantry Division, voluntary crime prevention patrols, volunteer fire brigades, autonomous disaster prevention teams, and community leaders from villages adjacent to forests. Since then, the city has maintained a joint on-site response system covering everything from wildfire prevention surveillance to initial firefighting, resident evacuation, and damage minimization.

As a result, on April 22, a fire broke out at a business site near a forest boundary due to the unauthorized disposal of a cigarette. There was concern that the fire could spread to the forest, but quick initial response by the fire department, police, and a specialized wildfire response team enabled swift extinguishment, preventing a wildfire from occurring. The individual responsible was fined in accordance with a zero-tolerance policy.

Subsequently, to prevent recurrence, the city expanded wildfire prevention management to include private construction sites adjacent to forests, as well as city-commissioned and managed worksites and businesses, thereby strengthening fire and wildfire prevention safety management. In particular, on-site inspections were conducted to verify the presence of initial firefighting equipment such as fire extinguishers, the organization of combustible materials around material storage and waste disposal areas, and the confirmation of extinguished embers after work was completed.

Meanwhile, since January 1, the city has operated a Wildfire Prevention Headquarters situation room. The city deployed a specialized wildfire prevention team, 100 day-and-night surveillance staff, and a drone surveillance unit to wildfire-prone areas. In cooperation with civic groups and community leaders, the city conducted weekly inspections of wood-burning boiler households and cracked down on illegal burning of agricultural byproducts and waste, focusing all efforts on eliminating wildfire risk factors.

As a result, Sokcho City has established itself as a safe tourist destination, with zero wildfires reported in the seven years since the major wildfire on April 4, 2019.

However, the city noted that there have been cases of major wildfires occurring even after the end of the wildfire prevention period in late May. With Buddha's Birthday (May 24), the nationwide local elections (June 3), and an expected increase in visitors, wildfire risk is expected to persist. Therefore, Sokcho City plans to continue operating the day-and-night Wildfire Prevention Headquarters and Forest Disaster Response Team through June 3 to maintain wildfire prevention and rapid response systems.

A Sokcho City official stated, "We deeply appreciate the active cooperation and participation of citizens as well as the public, private, and military sectors in preventing wildfires," and added, "As wildfires are increasingly occurring outside the traditional wildfire prevention period due to recent climate change, we urge everyone to remain vigilant."

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