ON MARCH 4, a massive wildfire started in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province in Korea and damaged 20,903 hectares of woodland, which equals more than a third of the size of Seoul[1]. After 213 hours of continuous firefighting, the fire was extinguished on March 13[1]. However, there still remains more to be done; apart from obviously restoring the area, we must deliberate on how to not repeat this disaster.

The fire

   The fire started in Uljin in North Gyeongsang at 11:14 a.m. on March 4, spreading to the entire mountain and even the neighboring city of Samcheok. The precise origin of the fire is yet to be discovered, but the most common theories include an unextinguished cigarette butt or a sunlit plastic bottle[2]. A total of 6,972 firefighters were dispatched to North Gyeongsang along with 2,599 fire control supplies such as trucks and helicopters[3].

   As suppression efforts prolonged to control the expanding fire, the whole nation took part in supporting the victims and firefighters—raising funds, making donations, and volunteering on the spot. The Korea Red Cross’s Gyeongbuk branch provided on-site meals with the support of 246 private organizations—4,394 participants—nationwide[4]. Samsung, the largest conglomerate in Korea, donated ₩3 billion and delivered 1,000 disaster relief kits[5].

The contributing factors

   The Uljin fire eventually became the biggest and longest burning forest fire since the East Coast Wildfires back in 2000[1]. Experts present three different factors that all contributed to the prolonging of time required to extinguish the Uljin forest fire: the tree species in the area, a lack of firefighting supplies, and the climate crisis. According to a Korea Forest Service (KFS) official, Uljin’s large proportion of needleleaf trees[6] was one of the many factors that aggravated the fire and the damage[8]. Fire spreads more easily in needleleaf trees like pine trees, which also generate resin that facilitates fire[7]. Some suggest replacing the dominant wood species in Uljin with more fire-resistant ones like broadleaf trees[7]. However, enacting this plan seems to be a challenge, considering the area’s barren soil that is unsuitable for the growth of broadleaf[2].

   The insufficient mobilization of fire extinguishing equipment in Uljin was another crucial factor that made the fire difficult to combat swiftly. The operation rate of the KFS’s fire extinguishing helicopters from March 4 to 13 was merely 47.7%[7]. Moreover, the large helicopters used to combat the disaster needed to be repaired after every 50 hours of operation, which impeded prompt deployment[7]. To improve its firefighting proficiency, the KFS announced that it will purchase more helicopters and increase the number of available helicopters for rent to local governments[7].

   Some experts assert that the corollaries of climate change exacerbated the Uljin fire and created complications that made timely extinguishing unattainable. According to Lee Woo-gyun (Prof., Environmental Sci. & Ecological Engin., Korea Univ.), the longstanding trend of large wildfires occurring mostly in April in the Gangwon Province was broken by the recent Uljin case[7]. That is, wildfires in Korea are now starting in chillier weather and covering a broader range of areas. Lee also pointed out that wildfires in Korea now can last for more than ten days, just like dry-heat regions[7]. In fact, effective humidity from winter to spring has decreased in the long term due to global warming[8]. Accordingly, the Korea Meteorological Administration stated that the Uljin forest fire had the lowest effective humidity and cumulative precipitation among the four most recent major wildfires in Korea[8]. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported in March this year that the potential of large wildfires will constantly increase due to the climate crisis and the ensuing rise in global temperature[9]. This climate trend is impacting Korea as well, given the increasing cases of unorthodox wildfires. While there were only 200 to 300 cases of annual wildfires in the early 2010s, there have consistently been over 600 cases per year ever since the mid-2010s[8]. Moreover, wildfire damage has increased from 1,090 hectares in 2010 to 2,920 hectares of land area in 2020[8]. The Uljin forest fire plainly demonstrated that Korea is facing huge challenges to overcome—not just the increase in wildfires, but also the broader issue of climate change.

   Heavily affected by such various factors, the Uljin forest fire left behind some irreversible damage. All the living creatures, trees, and plants caught up in the fire were completely destroyed[10]. It will take at least 30 years to rebuild the forests, 35 years for the wildlife to repopulate the area, and 100 years to restore the burnt soil[10]. What is worse is that the large amount of greenhouse gas emissions and fine dust from the fire will exacerbate the climate crisis, creating a viscous cycle of climate change-induced natural disasters[10]. After the fire, there were reportedly 22 times more air contaminants in the area compared to last year[11].

Damage restoration

   The scale of the total damage was estimated to be worth ₩171.7 billion[12]. A total of 643 buildings, including 319 homes, were destroyed due to the fire[7]. Three hundred and twenty seven families, or 466 residents, lost their homes. Thankfully, there have been no reports of human casualties[3].

   The Central Disaster Control Headquarters assured the victims of the forest fire that their houses and properties would be restored promptly with its full support[9]. It finalized expenditure for damage restoration on April 7: ₩211.6 billion for government expenses and ₩91.1 billion for provincial expenses[9]. Both the Gyeongbuk government and the national government’s restoration plans focused on stabilizing residences by allocating ₩4.1 billion to address house damages[9]. Furthermore, displaced people from Uljin, Samcheok, Gangneung, and Donghae were provided prefabricated houses located near their original homes for temporary residence[2]. A 50% discount of public rental house fees was also offered, along with loans for house recovery[2].

   Despite these substantial actions, the government’s damage restoration initiative contains loopholes. While the government financially supports house restoration for residents—allocating a maximum of ₩16 million to the sector––privately operated businesses, pension businesses, and agricultural complexes were marginalized in the support plan[13]. Any kind of immediate financial aid for restoring damages, aside from loans and tax deductions, was not promised[13]. The important thing to note here is that this situation is not at all different from the 2019 Goseong Wildfire[13]. In that case, private businesses received a mere ₩2 million in support from the provincial government[13]. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has mentioned that it will review its support plan for private businesses damaged by the Uljin Fire[13]. Only time will tell if the government follows through with its promises to the public and substantially assists the victims of the disaster.

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   The Uljin forest fire has alerted Korean society not only to the threat of unpredictable wildfires but also to how disaster relief organizations and the government can improve their efforts to minimize and compensate for the damage victims of natural disasters suffer. We must continue to strive to keep our forests and cities safe by considering both short and long-term initiatives to combat natural disasters.

[1] BBC News Korea

[2] Yonhap News

[3] The Korea Economic Daily

[4] Maeil Shinmun

[5] Maeil Business Newspaper

[6] Needleleaf trees: Trees that have long, thin leaves that resemble needles

[7] The JoongAng Ilbo

[8] Edaily

[9] Newsis

[10] The Segye Times

[11] The Seoul Shinmun

[12] The Hankyoreh

[13] SBS