Pohang City Strengthens Spring Wildfire Prevention and Early Response System

Deployment of 283 Forest Fire Watchers, Operation of 13 Panoramic Surveillance Cameras
Active Collection and Shredding of Agricultural By-products... Concentrated Administrative Efforts for Complete Prevention

Pohang City is mobilizing all administrative resources until May 15 to prevent forest fires in advance during the spring forest fire caution period.

A wildfire prevention publicity campaign conducted earlier this year in the Oeosa area. Provided by Pohang City

The city is an area with a wide distribution of pine forests and strong spring winds along the East Coast, making it highly susceptible to large-scale forest fires. Until recently, dry weather warnings had been in effect before the rain.

Especially from March to April, the increase in visitors for spring outings and ancestral rites raises the risk of forest fires. Additionally, localized strong winds caused by mobile high-pressure systems can cause forest fires to escalate, making it necessary to strengthen the forest fire response system during this period.

Pohang City currently deploys 283 forest fire watchers and operates monitoring activities flexibly in high-risk areas and vulnerable time periods. To enhance the monitoring system, three additional panoramic surveillance cameras were installed this year, bringing the total to 13 operational sites.

Furthermore, the city is equipped with firefighting equipment including one leased forest fire helicopter with a 3,400ℓ water capacity and eight forest fire suppression vehicles. A specialized forest fire prevention and suppression team of 55 members, divided into seven groups, is forward-deployed in vulnerable areas to establish a preemptive response system for initial firefighting in case of forest fire outbreaks.

Since January this year, a night standby team of the specialized forest fire prevention and suppression unit has been operating to ensure rapid dispatch in case of nighttime forest fires.

In addition, the city is actively promoting the collection and shredding of agricultural by-products to fundamentally prevent forest fires caused by the illegal burning of farming residues adjacent to forests, which is a common practice every spring.

Intensive crackdowns on illegal burning in forests or forest-adjacent areas are being conducted, and strict measures such as fines of up to 500,000 KRW under the Forest Protection Act will be imposed upon detection to fully block potential forest fire risk factors in advance.

Shin Gang-su, head of the Green City Project Group, said, “During the spring, when forest fires frequently occur, we ask for caution regarding the burning of agricultural by-products that can escalate into large-scale fires and the reprocessing of wood boilers.” He added, “We request citizens’ cooperation to prevent forest fires through thorough attention and awareness improvement.”