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Simultaneous wildfires draw calls for better vehicles, more personnel

Published: 24 Mar. 2025, 17:20 Updated: 24 Mar. 2025, 19:45

Firefighters extinguish a large wildfire in Goesan-ri in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang, on March 22. [YONHAP]

Multiple wildfires have broken out across Korea since Friday, including in Sancheong County in South Gyeongsang, Uiseong County in North Gyeongsang and Uljin County in Ulsan.

On Saturday alone, 29 wildfires were reported, marking the sixth-highest number of daily fires since 2000.

The simultaneous outbreaks have strained firefighting resources, with experts and the Korea Forest Service (KFS) calling for urgent improvements in equipment and personnel.

The KFS identified key firefighting equipment including helicopters and specialized vehicles. The service currently operates 50 helicopters, but most have small water tank capacities ranging from 300 liters (79 gallons) to 2,000 liters.

Only 42 helicopters are currently operational, with eight grounded as they await replacement parts. These helicopters, which are of Russian origin, face repair delays due to difficulties in importing parts amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Additionally, some 79 helicopters owned by local governments also have limited capacities to carry water, ranging from 600 to 800 liters, slowing down the fire suppression efforts.

A helicopter joins firefighting efforts to suppress a wildfire in Uiseong County in North Gyeongsang on March 24. [YONHAP]

To address such limitations, the KFS is working to introduce large-capacity helicopters like the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, which can carry up to 10,000 liters of water. The forest service has contracts with the United States to purchase three CH-47s, with one expected to arrive later this year. Each helicopter will cost approximately 55 billion won ($37.5 million).

A KFS official emphasized that transporting water from reservoirs to fire sites takes at least 20 minutes. These large-capacity helicopters are vital for quick and efficient wildfire suppression.

The agency is also focusing on acquiring specialized fire trucks capable of carrying up to 3,500 liters of water — three times the capacity of regular firefighting vehicles — that can navigate rough terrain, including ditches, rocks and fallen trees.

The cost of each specialized firefighting truck, built by German carmaker Mercedes-Benz, is about 750 million won ($512,000).

Currently, the KFS has 29 of these vehicles in its fleet.

Former KFS chief Nam Sung-hyun highlighted that having more specialized fire trucks would help combat wildfires even at night, when helicopters cannot operate.

"Around 100 vehicles would be needed to address increasingly larger wildfires," Nam said.

For such vehicles to be deployed effectively over difficult terrain, access to forest roads is critical. Korea currently has 26,789 kilometers (16,645 miles) of forest roads, but this is considered small compared to other countries. For example, Germany has 54 meters of forest roads per hectare of forest, while Australia has 50.5 meters and Japan has 23.5 meters. Korea has only 4.01 meters per hectare. In total, only around 900 kilometers are designated as wildfire-fighting access roads. The KFS plans to expand these roads, but environmental concerns have slowed the process.

Another major challenge is the aging of firefighting personnel. The agency has hired 106 aerial firefighters and around 440 specialized firefighting personnel.

Firefighters examine the scene as they extinguish a large wildfire in Goesan-ri in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang, on March 22. [YONHAP]

These teams are relatively young, with most members in their 30s or 40s. However, the 9,064 wildfire prevention specialists employed by local governments are mostly older, which limits their ability to effectively fight fires. In 2022, the average age of these specialists was 61, and 33.7 percent were over the age of 65. Three of the firefighters who died in the Sancheong County wildfire on Saturday were in their 60s. Such personnel are hired seasonally, which prevents them from gaining specialized skills needed for large-scale wildfire response.

Kim Sung-yong, a professor at the National Institute of Forest Science, noted that the increasing density of forests and the impacts of climate change have led to larger and more frequent wildfires.

"There is a need to speed up forest management and forest road construction, and to hire younger, full-time wildfire prevention personnel," Kim said.

Choi Hee-moon, a law professor of Kangwon National University, emphasized the importance of a multistep approach to wildfire management, involving prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. He also advocated for greater involvement of local communities in sharing wildfire-related information to reduce the occurrence of fires.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY KIM BANG-HYUN [[email protected]]