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More than one-sixth of government staff placed on emergency standby; Regional Disaster and Safety Response Headquarters activated
Special wildfire suppression crew battling a blaze in Miryang, South Gyeongsang[Provided by Korea Forest Service. Resale and database storage prohibited][Provided by Korea Forest Service. Resale and database storage prohibited]
The Korea Forest Service raised the national wildfire disaster alert from “Watch” to “Warning” today (March 26) at 4 p.m.
The agency said a dry-weather advisory covers most of the country, except the Honam region (southwest Korea). With rising temperatures and an increase in hikers and spring visitors, officials said wildfire risk has risen sharply, prompting the alert upgrade.
In the past week (March 19–25), authorities recorded 36 wildfires nationwide.
With the alert raised to “Warning,” forest disaster prevention agencies will place at least one-sixth of their staff on emergency standby and increase patrols and surveillance in fire-prone areas to strengthen preparedness.
Local governments will activate Regional Disaster and Safety Response Headquarters to ensure a rapid response to any outbreaks.
Geum Si-hoon, director of the Wildfire Prevention Division, said late March is statistically the peak period for wildfire risk. He noted that last year’s massive Yeongnam-region blaze also occurred in late March and urged the public to refrain from illegal acts such as smoking or open burning in forests and adjacent areas.
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Eunpa Lee (sw21@yna.co.kr)
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