Gyeonggi Province will invest a total of 29.4 billion KRW this year to prevent wildfires, including leasing 20 wildfire-fighting helicopters and operating 945 specialized wildfire prevention and suppression personnel.
On the 31st, Gyeonggi Province announced the "2024 Comprehensive Wildfire Prevention Plan," which aims to reduce the number of wildfire occurrences by about 20% compared to the recent 10-year average (126 cases).
Last year, there were 107 wildfire incidents in the province, accounting for 18% of the nationwide wildfires. However, due to rapid initial response, the damaged area was only 99 hectares, which is just 1.99% of the national total of 4,922 hectares. Regarding causes, wildfires caused by burning activities accounted for 21%, the highest proportion. This was followed by cigarette-related fires, fires caused by visitors to the mountains, and fires spreading from buildings.
This year, Gyeonggi Province plans to implement the following wildfire prevention measures: leasing 20 wildfire-fighting helicopters (10 billion KRW), operating 945 specialized wildfire prevention and suppression personnel (15.5 billion KRW), purchasing wildfire suppression vehicles and command vehicles (700 million KRW), establishing an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform (400 million KRW), and supporting equipment for related organizations such as military units (500 million KRW).
Additionally, during the wildfire caution periods in spring (February 1 to May 15) and autumn (November 1 to December 15), as well as during major holidays, a "Wildfire Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters" will be operated.
In the event of a wildfire, an integrated command center will be promptly established at the wildfire site to strengthen cooperation and response systems with related organizations. During the special large wildfire prevention period in March and April, mobile inspection teams will be deployed to intensively crack down on illegal burning activities such as agricultural waste incineration and burning of rice paddies and field edges.
To prevent wildfires caused by the burning of agricultural residues, which is one of the main causes in spring, the province will actively cooperate with the Rural Development Administration’s newly launched Agricultural Residue Safe Disposal Project along with city and county forestry and agricultural departments.
The Agricultural Residue Safe Disposal Project operates an agricultural residue shredding support team that visits areas close to forests and regions with a high proportion of elderly farmers to collect and shred agricultural residues.
Furthermore, 20 wildfire-fighting helicopters will be distributed across cities and counties to operate a "Golden Time System," ensuring arrival at the scene within 30 minutes from the time of report. The province also plans to establish a joint firefighting cooperation system with the Korea Forest Service, fire departments, and local governments to suppress wildfires at an early stage.
Seok Yong-hwan, Director of the Forest and Greenery Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Due to recent climate change, high temperatures, and increased dry days, wildfires are occurring year-round. With the trend toward larger fires, the damage could be greater in the metropolitan area where many people live. We will thoroughly prepare and respond to prevent wildfires from occurring."
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