Interior ministry raises wildfire prevention funding to 15 billion won

The interior ministry said Monday it will provide 15 billion won ($11 million) in special disaster-management grants to all 16 provincial governments to strengthen wildfire monitoring and initial response capacity ahead of this winter and next spring's fire season.

The allocation is 5 billion won ($3.68 million) more than the 10 billion won distributed last year. The ministry said the money was decided in advance of the period when wildfires cluster so that local governments can reinforce surveillance systems and secure equipment before fires start.

Grants will go toward installing wildfire surveillance cameras, reinforcing firefighting equipment, replacing aging fire engines and public awareness campaigns, according to the ministry.

The ministry cited a forecast from the Korea Meteorological Administration that wildfire risk will rise in the coming years as climate change pushes temperatures higher. Dry weather combined with strong winds raises the prospect of small fires spreading into large ones, it said.

Yoon Ho-jung, the minister, said preparation must come before the danger period. "A single small spark can spread into major loss of life, so preemptive and thorough readiness is needed ahead of the wildfire season," he said.

He urged local governments to use the grants to tighten monitoring in vulnerable areas and concentrate on strengthening on-the-ground response. "Use this support to strengthen wildfire monitoring centered on vulnerable areas and to focus on building field response capacity so that people's lives and property can be protected when a fire breaks out," Yoon said.

The Korea Forest Service has also expanded its firefighting resources, with the number of high-performance, multi-purpose wildfire trucks rising to 108 this year from 29 last autumn. Cross-ministry firefighting helicopters have grown to 315 from 261, and 755 members of an aerial special firefighting unit are in place.

Those deployments follow a relatively light spring. During a special response period for large wildfires from March 14 to April 19, the country recorded 98 wildfires and no large ones, 42 percent below the 10-year average of 168. Damaged area came to 24.3 hectares, or 2.1 percent of the 10-year average of 1,148 hectares.

The autumn wildfire caution period runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15. From Nov. 13, anyone who starts a fire through negligence faces up to five years in prison.