Preventing forest fires

[Anchor]

There really shouldn't be any wildfires over this Lunar New Year holiday.

Due to the dry weather, the fallen leaves in the mountains are completely dry.

Even a small spark can lead to a large fire.

We need to be careful.

Agricultural byproducts must not be burned.

Meteorological expert Lee Se-heum will explain.

[Report]

As dry weather has continued for over a month, the forest authorities are on high alert as more people visit the mountains or engage with nature during the Lunar New Year holiday.

This is because we have entered a period when the risk of wildfires significantly increases throughout the year.

Looking at the causes of wildfires over the past five years, most were due to negligence by visitors, but last year, there have been even more cases of fires spreading from burning agricultural byproducts or trash to nearby mountains.

[Moon Ji-won/Chief of Protection Team, Uljin National Forest Management Office: "People think, 'Surely, my small fire won't become a big one,' but it does lead to large fires. If you contact the Forest Service, we can help you manage, incinerate, or crush agricultural byproducts, so please reach out anytime."]

If a wildfire is caused by negligence or carelessness, one can face up to three years in prison under the Forest Protection Act, and if a wildfire is intentionally set, the maximum penalty is 15 years in prison for forest arson.

Since 2022, the Forest Service has completely banned burning fields within 100 meters of forests, but the number of fines for illegal burning has been on the rise, exceeding 800 cases in 2023 alone.

The Forest Service urged people to refrain from entering restricted areas and to quickly report any smoke or flames seen near the mountains to the fire department or police.

The Ministry of Environment analyzed that during 2022, it lost 1.1 million tons of greenhouse gas absorption sources due to massive wildfires.

This is KBS News, Lee Se-heum.