Gokseong-gun, Jeonnam Province's First 'Forest Fire ICT Platform' System Established

Utilizing Advanced AI Technology for 24-Hour Early Wildfire Detection and More

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it has completed the establishment of the wildfire ICT platform, the first of its kind in Jeollanam-do, to protect the lives of residents and forest resources.

The wildfire ICT platform project is an initiative that integrates advanced AI technology into the forestry sector. Gokseong-gun was the first in Jeollanam-do to be selected for this project, which has been underway since last year with a total budget of 375 million KRW.

[Photo by Gokseong-gun]

Gokseong-gun has over 72% of its area covered by forest, making it a region with a high risk of wildfires compared to other cities and counties. The existing unmanned wildfire surveillance camera system is limited by the difficulty of maintaining 24-hour human monitoring and is vulnerable to nighttime wildfire detection. If initial response is delayed during a wildfire, the golden time for extinguishing the fire may be missed, increasing the likelihood of a large-scale wildfire.

Recognizing these limitations, the county introduced an AI-based surveillance system to enhance early detection and response capabilities for wildfires.

This project involves an AI system that continuously learns the patterns of wildfire smoke and detects smoke before fire, transmitting the situation when a wildfire occurs. When wildfire smoke is detected, the system sends the location information of the initial ignition point to the person in charge via SMS notification, enabling immediate response and preventing large-scale disasters through early suppression.

Lee Sang-cheol, the mayor of Gokseong-gun, stated, “In the past three years, a total of seven wildfires have occurred in Gokseong-gun, five of which were nighttime wildfires. We expect that by utilizing the wildfire ICT platform, which can improve monitoring efficiency during vulnerable times, we will be able to respond immediately to wildfire situations 24 hours a day and prevent the spread to large-scale disasters.”

Gokseong-gun completed the project by the end of April, installing new unmanned surveillance cameras and linking AI systems at eight target sites to improve wildfire monitoring efficiency, and is currently operating the system.

Gokseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-seon hss79@asiae.co.kr