[Uiseong Wildfire One Month On]③No Pause on the Front Lines... Exhaustion Grows Among Firefighters

Conventional Seasonal Forest Fire Trends: 'Summer and Autumn' < 'Spring and Winter'
Forest Fires Becoming a Year-Round Phenomenon, Even Summer and Autumn Now at Risk
Average Number of Summer Forest Fires Tripled from 2006 to 2024
Fatigue Grows Among Frontline Workers as Breaks Disappear from the Forest Fire Calendar

As May approaches, the mountains are becoming lush and green. In the past, many believed that from this time until the autumn when the leaves fall, the risk of forest fires was relatively low. It was thought that the moisture contained in the leaves reduced the frequency of forest fires and was effective in preventing their spread. There was even a common saying among field workers: "When the acacia flowers bloom, forest fires also subside." The season of dense foliage served as a kind of 'pause' for forest fire sites. However, with forest fires now occurring throughout the year, even this respite has become hard to expect. Voices from the field are growing louder, expressing fatigue over the continuous forest fire situations with no pause.

Acacia flowers are blooming around the coastal areas of Pohang City, Gyeongbuk. The Korea Forest Service and related organizations have analyzed that the frequency of forest fires tends to decrease around the blooming period of acacia flowers. This is because from May to June, when the leaves sprout, even if a forest fire occurs, the flames spread relatively slowly. However, recently, this conventional belief has lost its validity as the frequency of forest fires during this period has increased, with even large-scale forest fires occurring. Photo by Yonhap News

◆The conventional wisdom about acacia is now outdated= Acacia is a tree that blooms from May to June. The Korea Forest Service and related organizations have long accepted the belief that the risk of forest fires decreases around the time this tree blooms. However, recently, it has become difficult to agree with this conventional wisdom.

According to the Korea Forest Service and the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS), there were a total of 279 forest fires last year. By season, there were 158 cases in spring (March to May), 35 in summer (June to August), 26 in autumn (September to November), and 60 in winter (December to February of the following year).

Looking at the overall forest fire statistics, forest fires are still mainly concentrated in spring and winter. In contrast, the number of forest fires in summer and autumn has been relatively low. However, due to the year-round occurrence of forest fires, the frequency of fires in summer and autumn has been clearly increasing, as shown by the numbers.

Examining the 10-year average for seasonal forest fire occurrences, summer forest fires increased from 14.0 cases in 2006 to 50.3 cases in 2024, a 3.6-fold increase. Autumn forest fires increased from 38.0 cases in 2006 to 46.6 cases in 2024, a 1.2-fold increase.

The difference becomes even more pronounced when looking separately at summer forest fires. From 2006 to 2014, there were a total of 145 summer forest fires (an annual average of 16.1 cases), but from 2015 to 2024, there were 503 cases (an annual average of 50.3 cases), showing a clear increase in frequency. For this reason, unlike in the past, those working on the front lines of forest fires can no longer let their guard down even in summer and autumn.

Ko Kiyeon, president of the Korea Forest Fire Society, said, "Within and outside the Korea Forest Service, the saying 'when acacia flowers bloom, forest fires subside' has long been considered conventional wisdom." He added, "However, recently, it has become difficult to agree with this belief on the ground." He continued, "For example, the wildfire that occurred in Miryang in 2022 started at the end of May and continued into early June. Now, we have to be cautious about forest fires throughout the entire year."

Firefighting teams are conducting nighttime wildfire suppression activities at the Uiseong wildfire site last month. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

◆Fatigue on the front lines of forest fires, and among people= People are becoming exhausted due to the unending forest fire situations. The hardships faced by those who must move tirelessly across the fire sites are significant, but the fatigue among those monitoring and commanding from the rear is also evident.

During the Uiseong wildfire last month, a member of the aerial firefighting team from the Hamyang Forest Aviation Management Office, identified as A, was hospitalized with temporary angina. It is said that accumulated fatigue (overwork) while working at the wildfire site was the cause.

From March 20 to April 8, a total of 916 aerial firefighters and 1,789 members of the Special Forest Fire Disaster Suppression Team were deployed to the Uiseong wildfire site. Both the aerial firefighting team and the Special Forest Fire Disaster Suppression Team fight at the closest distance to the flames. This makes them more exposed to danger and causes their fatigue to accumulate even more. This is why their efforts and hardships are always mentioned whenever a large-scale forest fire occurs.

Even for those who do not directly work at the fire sites, the fatigue among support personnel in the rear is considerable. A Korea Forest Service official who worked at the field command center during the Uiseong wildfire said, "Although it cannot be compared to those deployed at the fire site, there were quite a few staff members in the command center who complained of fatigue due to the forest fire situation." He added, "With wildfires occurring simultaneously on a daily basis, many staff members went several days without proper sleep and began to notice signs of health problems."

He lamented, "Assuming that the situation of continuous forest fires persists, the fatigue level at the fire sites will likely continue to accumulate in the future."