The fuel characteristics of a forest are important factors in designing a forest fire danger rating system and must be analyzed to understand forest fire behavior. Therefore, in this study, forest fire intensity was predicted depending on the amount of fuel in the forests in the Yeongdong and Yeongseo regions of Gangwon-do from November 2020 to December 2021. The possibility of forest fire occurrence, from surface fire to crown fire, was analyzed depending on the fuel conditions. Regional differences were found in the amount of fuel and the fuel structure of the surface layer in the forest. The intensity and type of forest fire changed according to these differences. The Yeongdong area is more susceptible to crown fires and more intense of surface fire than the Yeongseo area. These results show the need to prevent early forest fires by learning the characteristics of forests in different regions and analyzing the intensity and type of forest fire predicted.

This study examines the effects of meteorological fire danger and human activity on wildfire ignition patterns in South Korea using records from 2004 to 2023. A percentile-based Fire Weather Index (FWI) classification, derived from negative binomial regression, identified critical daily fire frequency thresholds at FWI 4.39 (μ ≥ 1 fire/day) and FWI 6.84 (μ ≥ 2 fires/day). Bivariate LISA analysis revealed a spatial mismatch between resident population density and wildfire frequency: High–High (HH) clusters were concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan fringe, while Low–High (LH) clusters appeared in mountainous provinces where forest visitor ignitions and agricultural burning are the primary causes. In HH clusters, cigarette-related ignitions and structure-to-forest transitions were comparatively more frequent. Wildfire events were concentrated in age class 4–5 coniferous and broadleaf stands, and mean ignition-to-building distances in metropolitan areas frequently fell below 150 m. These findings suggest that prevention strategies should shift from uniform resident-oriented approaches toward spatially differentiated management targeting transient populations in LH areas and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) exposure in HH areas.

Climate change has led to the global intensification of wildfire activity, and South Korea has also experienced a marked increase in fire danger. To understand these developments, it is essential to examine both temporal trends and spatial patterns in fire-conducive climate conditions. In this study, we investigated the temporal and spatial characteristics of wildfire danger across South Korea between 2004 and 2023 using the Fire Weather Index (FWI). The analysis of long-term climate trends revealed region-specific patterns of increasing temperatures, decreasing precipitation, and declining wind speeds, which collectively contribute to an increased risk of wildfires. The FWI exhibited strong seasonal variations, with significant increases observed in spring, particularly in May, over the most recent decade. Statistical analyses confirmed a strong correlation between high FWI percentiles and wildfire occurrence, particularly noting an increased frequency of large-scale fires (>100 ha) in the highest FWI bins. The spatial analysis further highlighted that certain provinces, including Gangwon State, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Chuncheongbuk-do, and Gyeonggi-do, experienced disproportionately high increases in FWI values. These findings suggest that the FWI can serve as a robust framework for wildfire danger assessment in South Korea, particularly when supported by region-specific calibration and long-term validation under varying climatic conditions.