Geochang-gun Launches Emergency Headquarters for Wildfire Prevention

Intensive Crackdown on Illegal Burning of Agricultural Byproducts
Full Effort on Prevention Activities

Geochang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 18th that it held a launch ceremony at the Cultural Center attended by over 240 people, including the specialized wildfire prevention and suppression team, wildfire monitors, and related public officials, to ensure a wildfire-free Geochang in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025.

The launch ceremony was organized to strengthen the capabilities of wildfire personnel through the reading of a resolution by representatives of wildfire monitoring and suppression personnel, who pledged to protect the lives and property of residents from wildfires and safeguard valuable forests, as well as a meeting with wildfire officers from all towns and townships and safety and health education.

The launch ceremony for a wildfire-free Geochang in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025 is being held.

The wildfire monitors and suppression team completed specialized wildfire training in October, including various drills and equipment usage education, equipping them with the ability to respond effectively on site. They will be deployed for patrols in high-risk wildfire areas, preemptive removal of risk factors, and initial firefighting efforts in case of fire outbreaks.

The county was selected as an ‘Excellent’ institution in the 2023 wildfire prevention and response evaluation among cities and counties, achieving the honor for two consecutive years following the ‘Best’ institution award in 2022. This year, they plan to actively strive to achieve excellent evaluations for three consecutive years with the goal of ‘zero wildfire occurrences.’

County Governor Gu In-mo stated, “The roles of the specialized wildfire prevention and suppression team members and wildfire monitors are very important in wildfire prevention and suppression activities,” adding, “We ask that you do your best to preserve the forests, which are valuable assets of Geochang-gun.”

Meanwhile, the county has designated the period from November 1, 2024, to May 15, 2025, as a special wildfire prevention period, initiating full-scale wildfire prevention and response activities including maintenance of wildfire suppression vehicles and equipment, wildfire prevention publicity through banners and village chief newsletters, monitoring and crackdown on unauthorized burning, and removal of flammable materials adjacent to forests.

Additionally, to prevent wildfires caused by the burning of agricultural residues, a collection and shredding team for agricultural residues is being operated. Farmers who wish to have their residues shredded should remove trash such as vinyl and string from the agricultural residues, gather them in advance, and apply through the offices of each town and township.