2024 Wildfire Prevention Measures
‘ICT Platform’ Expanded Nationwide
The Korea Forest Service will focus on establishing an initial wildfire suppression system this year, including expanding wildfire monitoring using artificial intelligence.
On the 29th, the Korea Forest Service announced the "2024 Wildfire Prevention Measures" at the Government Complex Daejeon, outlining these plans.
Last year, forestry authorities deployed helicopters to extinguish a forest fire at the wildfire site in Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam. Photo by Yonhap News
This year's wildfire prevention measures will be implemented based on five major strategies: ▲establishing wildfire prevention measures and infrastructure according to major causes ▲building wildfire monitoring and prediction systems based on advanced scientific technology ▲establishing wildfire preparedness posture ▲setting up initial suppression systems and safety management foundations ▲strengthening wildfire cause investigations and wildfire prevention publicity.
First, to block agricultural burning wildfires, which are identified as a main cause of wildfires, the Korea Forest Service will collaborate with the Rural Development Administration and local governments to expand the "Visiting Agricultural Residue Shredding" activities. At the same time, they will conduct thorough inspections of wood boiler reprocessing facilities operating near forests to eliminate wildfire risk factors.
Additionally, they will select areas with relatively high wildfire risk to control forest entry (1.83 million hectares, 29%) and close hiking trails (6,887 km, 24%), implementing measures to prevent arson by visitors.
In particular, the Korea Forest Service plans to expand the AI-based wildfire monitoring system "ICT platform" nationwide (to 20 locations) this year to enable early detection of wildfires. The wildfire situation control system will also be updated with location information of approximately 196,000 sites, including nursing hospitals and elementary schools, to prioritize safety in case of wildfire occurrence.
They will introduce leased helicopters from overseas and strengthen cooperation with helicopters from related agencies for wildfire suppression. Furthermore, by adding 11 high-performance wildfire suppression vehicles with three times the water capacity of existing vehicles, they plan to enhance suppression capabilities against nighttime and large-scale wildfires.
Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, "We will strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation through activities such as shredding agricultural residues, removing hazardous trees around power facilities, and operating helicopter cooperation systems to minimize wildfire damage this year and respond with full force."
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