Jinju City, Full Effort for Winter and Spring 2021 Wildfire Prevention

Firefighting helicopter for wildfire in Jinju City (Photo by Jinju City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 19th that it has established the '2021 Winter and Spring Wildfire Prevention Activity Plan' and will make every effort to prevent wildfires due to the recent dry weather and increased outdoor activities of citizens.

During the wildfire prevention period, the city deployed 166 personnel including wildfire specialized firefighting teams, wildfire monitoring posts, and wildfire monitoring mobile patrol teams to areas adjacent to forests and wildfire-prone regions.

They decided to prepare for any emergencies by conducting wildfire prevention publicity and guidance activities by responsible zones, as well as initial firefighting in case of wildfire occurrence.

The wildfire prevention personnel will focus on monitoring illegal burning activities near forest areas, dismantling burning facilities, inspecting homes using wood boilers, and cracking down on illegal burning in cultivated lands through on-site prevention activities.

The Forestry Department and the comprehensive situation room are thoroughly committed to wildfire prevention by continuously monitoring wildfire surveillance cameras installed on Wolasan, Mangjinsan, and Gwangjesan Mountains.

The city operates a total of 11 vehicles, including 9 wildfire firefighting vehicles and 2 wildfire and equipment transport vehicles, to enable constant patrol activities and initial firefighting for rapid response in case of wildfire occurrence.

A city official stated, “Recently, punishments for wildfire arsonists have been increasingly strengthened, including 6 months imprisonment with 2 years probation and fines of 4 million won,” and added, “We ask for much interest and cooperation in wildfire prevention to protect our lives, property, and precious forest resources.”