The Most Fundamental Response to Large Wildfires is Forest Roads and Scientific Forest Management

1. Introduction: Recurrent Mega-Wildfires and the Need for Fundamental Solutions

In Korea, wildfires occur frequently due to seasonal factors such as dry spring weather and strong winds, and in recent years climate change has compounded these conditions. When suppression is delayed, fires can escalate into large-scale disasters, causing severe human and economic losses. Over the past decade (2015–2024), Korea recorded 5,455 wildfire incidents and roughly 40,000 hectares of forest damage—about 138 times the area of Yeouido (290 hectares). Except for 2024, Korea has experienced at least one “mega-wildfire” every year since 2017. With the exception of 2021 and 2024, the burned area and economic losses show an upward trend: 418 hectares / KRW 20.48 billion in 2015, 2,920 hectares / KRW 158.14 billion in 2020, and 24,797 hectares / KRW 1.34628 trillion in 2022.

In March, Korea began full-scale damage assessment and restoration work following the largest wildfire in the nation’s history, which occurred in North Gyeongsang Province. According to the provincial government, as of now, five cities and counties—Andong, Uiseong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok—have reported 75 casualties, including 30 fatalities. The affected area is estimated at approximately 48,000 hectares. More than 5,000 homes and agricultural facilities were destroyed, 30 cases of damage to national heritage assets were reported, and total losses are expected to exceed KRW 1 trillion. As the scale and geographic reach of wildfires continue to expand, the importance of response systems and infrastructure is rising accordingly.

The National Institute of Forest Science under the Korea Forest Service argues that the continuous expansion of forest roads (imdo)—roads installed for forest management and administration—is necessary to cultivate future forest resources, increase timber production, respond rapidly to disasters such as wildfires, and protect public safety and property (Korea Forest Service, 2023). Building on this view, the present study examines the domestic and international status of forest roads and their multi-dimensional benefits for preventing and responding to mega-wildfires. At the same time, it proposes science-based forest management measures as a more fundamental response strategy beyond forest-road expansion alone, seeking solutions that advance both environmental and economic objectives.

2. Forest Road Development in Korea and Major Countries: Status and Comparison

Forest roads have gained attention as one of the most effective tools for wildfire response because they enable rapid access to fire sites and faster suppression operations. The Korea Forest Service emphasizes that expanding forest roads is essential for rapid early-stage and nighttime suppression by allowing personnel, vehicles, and equipment to enter forest areas quickly.

However, Korea’s forest-road network remains insufficient. According to the Korea Forest Service’s 2024 Statistical Yearbook of Forestry and Forest Products, the total length of forest roads nationwide reached about 26,000 km as of 2023, but road density relative to forest area is far lower than in advanced countries.

A comparison of forest-road density shows that the United States has 9.5 m/ha, Japan 24.1 m/ha, Germany 54 m/ha, and Finland 5.8 m/ha, whereas Korea stands at just 4.1 m/ha—among the lowest levels globally. In other words, the U.S. has roughly twice Korea’s density, Japan about six times, and Germany about thirteen times.

In particular, while forest roads are a key factor affecting early suppression success, some analyses suggest that existing forest roads account for only about 2% of the total length actually needed. This indicates a structural shortage of foundational infrastructure for preventing wildfire spread, making forest-road expansion an urgent task for strengthening national wildfire response capacity.

3. Multi-Dimensional Advantages of Forest Roads as a Mega-Wildfire Response Tool: Suppression Capacity, Environmental Value, and Economic Benefits
◩ Improved Access for Firefighting and More Effective Suppression

Forest roads play a critical role in wildfire response by enabling rapid access for firefighting personnel and equipment deep within forested terrain. In March 2024, Ulsan’s Ulju County experienced two major wildfires—one on Hwajangsan in Eonyang-eup and another on Daewoonsan in Onyang-eup. These incidents drew attention as representative cases showing how the presence or absence of forest roads can directly affect suppression speed and the scale of damage.

Hwajangsan had a forest road reaching the summit, allowing suppression to be completed in roughly 20 hours and enabling rapid deployment of resources. By contrast, the Daewoonsan area had limited forest roads and difficult access, requiring nearly six days to contain the fire; during that period, the burned area expanded substantially. In the Hwajangsan case, fire engines were able to reach the upper slopes via the forest road, while helicopters were operated more efficiently by using temporary landing and takeoff points near the road.

Research on U.S. national forests prone to large wildfires suggests that areas with low forest-road density tend to have higher fuel continuity, increasing the likelihood of mega-wildfires. Findings also show that wildfire damage increases as distance from forest roads grows: for each additional meter away from a road, damaged area rises by 1.55 m². In Finland, by contrast, a forest-road network exceeding 130,000 km has been associated with reducing burned area per incident by 0.4 hectares (Korea Forest Service, 2023).

These cases demonstrate that forest roads are not merely administrative metrics but have tangible operational value in real disaster response. Dedicated wildfire-suppression forest roads are also designed wider—up to 67% wider (at least 3.5 meters)—which increases vehicle travel speed and allows for multiple water intake points, maximizing suppression efficiency (Korea Forest Technology Association, 2023). Strategic expansion of forest roads can therefore become a decisive determinant of wildfire response capability.

◩ Environmental Value, Including Forest Ecosystem Protection

Awareness of the environmental functions of forest roads has been gradually expanding. In the past, forest roads were sometimes criticized as a key cause of forest degradation. However, when built under systematic planning and eco-friendly design standards, they can serve as essential infrastructure supporting ecosystem protection and sustainable forest management.

By enabling early and nighttime suppression that prevents fires from escalating, forest roads can greatly reduce damage and help conserve forests. They can also contribute indirectly to lowering greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing large-scale forest loss.

A major concern is that forest-road construction may increase landslide risk. Yet Korea Forest Service statistics from the past five years (2018–2022) show that the share of forest-road segments damaged by disasters such as torrential rain was only 0.18%—about 40.4 km out of 22,497 km of total forest roads. Moreover, forest roads can help prevent landslides by acting as barriers that block slide movement from slopes, by limiting the upward spread of landslides from lower areas, and by intercepting groundwater or reducing total water volume in vulnerable zones (Korea Forest Technology Association, 2023).

◩ Economic Benefits: Lower Domestic Timber Transport Costs and Higher Forest Utilization

Expanding forest roads can improve not only forest management efficiency but also economic performance. With improved access, transporting logged timber becomes easier, raising forest utilization. Studies suggest that forest-road development can reduce transport costs by roughly KRW 10,000–20,000 per cubic meter of timber. By expanding forest roads, usable forest area can increase by about five to eight times, and mechanized timber production can reduce yarding (log collection) costs by around 35–47%, supporting cyclical and sustainable forest resource management (Korea Forest Service, 2023). Forest roads also raise productivity in forestry operations such as reforestation, thinning, and pest control, shortening cost recovery cycles and improving long-term returns on investment.

Forest roads also help substantially raise domestic timber utilization. In major European countries, forest utilization rates reach 55.7% in Germany, 40.9% in Denmark, 99.1% in Switzerland, and 50.7% in Finland, while Korea remains at around 17.1%. A common feature among high-utilization countries is a well-developed forest-road network. From a forest management perspective, the conclusion is clear: adequate forest-road expansion can raise Korea’s domestic timber utilization.

At the regional level, forest-road construction and maintenance can create jobs, and forest roads can be leveraged as tourism resources for forest recreation and sports. Research by the National Institute of Forest Science reports that the production-inducement coefficient of forest-road construction is 2.767 and the value-added inducement coefficient is 0.977; for forestry and forest products, the production-inducement coefficient is 1.565 and the value-added inducement coefficient is 0.985. These findings statistically confirm that forest-road facilities serve as essential infrastructure for forestry development—supporting forest management, recreation, sports, village connectivity, timber production, and short-term forest products (Lee Seung-jeong et al., 2017).

4. Toward Fundamental Solutions for Mega-Wildfire Response: Science-Based Forest Management
◩ Exploring a Science-Based Direction for Fundamental Wildfire Preparedness

While forest roads are a necessary element for preventing, preparing for, and responding to mega-wildfires, the time has come to pursue a more fundamental scientific approach to managing forests as a whole. As carbon neutrality becomes a central global issue, greater attention must be paid to forests as the only natural resource that absorbs carbon dioxide and provides diverse public benefits. Forests therefore need to be preserved and utilized through systematic, science-and-technology-based management.

Science-based forest management is a broad concept encompassing:

understanding forest geography and three-dimensional spatial structures, ecosystem resources, and species/vegetation distribution;

deploying scientific equipment in forestry operations;

advancing smart forestry and digitalized forest management;

expanding the application of science and technology across forest-based cultural and industrial activities—such as leisure, healthcare, therapy, meditation, recovery, tourism, lodging, training, food services, and workspaces;

applying science and technology to disaster prevention in forests; and

using science and technology in forest restoration (Lee Kyung-seon et al., 2023).

◩ AI and Big Data–Driven Forest Management with Strong Environmental and Economic Potential

Science-based forest management using AI and big data can pursue environmental and economic goals simultaneously. First, advanced drones can be used to collect forest resource data and manage it through big data systems, enabling continuous wildfire monitoring and proactive suppression work.

Second, expanding AI-based ICT platforms can reduce surveillance blind spots by enabling 24-hour real-time detection and automated assessment of wildfire risk, and by developing algorithms to estimate burned areas and disaster impacts—supporting data-driven decision-making in forest policy.

Third, preventive “disaster-protection forests” should be developed by planting selected tree species in belt-shaped zones near rivers, residential areas, and vulnerable slopes to reduce disaster risk.

Fourth, improving productivity and income in the forestry sector also requires advanced technology integration and interdisciplinary R&D, including deep-learning-based production and supply of high-quality seeds using forest seed big data, as well as robotics-based customized food-tech solutions for short-term income forest products.

5. Conclusion: The Need to Institutionalize Science-Based Forest Management to Advance Both Environmental and Economic Goals

If policy focuses excessively on regulation and preservation alone, forests may ultimately be left unmanaged. Under a vision of coexistence between people and nature, expanding forest roads—together with cutting-edge science-based forest management integrating AI and big data—offers a fundamental strategy for wildfire response and a practical pathway to advance both environmental and economic goals.

At present, legal provisions related to forest science and technology are scattered across multiple statutes, including: the Forest Basic Act (forest informatization and mechanization provisions), the Act on the Promotion and Management of Forest Technology (regulations on technology business operators), the Act on the Promotion of Agricultural and Food Science and Technology (science and technology provisions for forestry and forest products), and the Act on the Creation and Management of Forest Resources (provisions for establishing a basic plan for forest science and technology development), among others (Lee Kyung-seon et al., 2023). Given this fragmentation, there is a need to organize these provisions into a coherent and unified legal structure, and to link them appropriately with related statutes such as the Framework Act on Science and Technology and the Act on the Promotion of Technology Development for Climate Change Response.

Accordingly, this paper proposes legislation for a “Act on Science-Based Forest Management” as a legal alternative that can strengthen wildfire response, enhance sustainability, and support the development of the forestry sector simultaneously.

Korean version: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=issue&pn=1&idx=27454