In the future, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to investigate whether measures for 'large wildfires' are included during the biannual safety inspections of social welfare facilities.
On the 7th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other relevant agencies revealed this during a meeting to inspect the 'improvement plan for the resident evacuation system in response to ultra-fast wildfires.' This is a follow-up action to the improvement plan for the resident evacuation system announced last month.
First, the Ministry of Welfare decided to also examine the response to large wildfires through the social welfare facilities safety inspection system. This investigation checks the safety status of fire, electricity, gas, and facilities in social welfare facilities for children, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless nationwide on a biannual basis, but until now, the preparation of large wildfire response manuals has not been included in the investigation.
The Korea Forest Service also plans to incorporate the definition, development aspects, and citizen action guidelines of ultra-fast wildfires into the standard disaster manual for wildfires.
Local governments in areas prone to wildfires, such as North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, and Ulsan, plan to improve the resident evacuation system tailored to local conditions based on government guidelines.
For example, during the wildfire in Inje County, Gangwon Province, on the 26th of last month, residents were proactively evacuated not only from villages near the ignition point but also from nearby cities in the direction of the spread. During the wildfire at Hamji Mountain in Daegu last month, elderly individuals living at senior welfare facilities were evacuated to hospitals located in downtown Daegu, and the municipalities of Chilgok, Gyeongsan, and Yeongcheon in nearby areas also informed residents about the wildfire situation.