"Amid Serious Concerns," National Wildfire Crisis Alert Raised to 'Alert' Level

On January 28, the Korea Forest Service announced that, as of 5 p.m. the previous day, the national wildfire disaster crisis alert had been raised from "Caution" to "Alert" for all cities, counties, and districts in Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang, as well as for nine cities and counties in Gangwon Province, including Gangneung, Donghae, Samcheok, Sokcho, Goseong, Yangyang, Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Hongcheon.

With the wildfire crisis alert elevated to the "Alert" level, the relevant agencies are now required to have at least one-sixth of their staff on emergency standby and to strengthen their wildfire preparedness by increasing monitoring personnel in areas vulnerable to wildfires.

A fire that started on the 21st at a factory located in Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan is spreading to a nearby mountain. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

This is the first time since the current crisis alert system was introduced that the wildfire crisis alert has been raised to the "Alert" level in January. This indicates that the risk of wildfires has become significantly higher.

In fact, a prolonged dry weather warning has been in effect in the East Coast region recently, and between January 20 and 26, there were 21 wildfires nationwide, leading to increased risk of wildfire occurrence and spread. This is the background for the Korea Forest Service's decision to raise the wildfire crisis alert.

In particular, on January 21, large-scale wildfires of over 10 hectares broke out simultaneously in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, and Gijang-gun, Busan, prompting the deployment of 63 firefighting helicopters and 1,860 personnel over two days to extinguish the fires.

Kim Sihoon, Director of the Wildfire Prevention Division at the Korea Forest Service, stated, "Since the introduction of the four-stage national crisis alert system in 2004, this is the first time in January that the wildfire crisis alert has been issued at the 'Alert' level. This reflects the heightened wildfire risk, and I urge everyone to recognize the seriousness of the situation and refrain from illegal activities such as smoking or unauthorized burning in forests and adjacent areas."