A Study on the Complexity of Wildfire Disasters in the Era of Climate Change: Integrated Assessment of Environmental, Economic, and Social Dimensions and Strategies for Improving Disaster Management

doi:10.15683/kosdi.2025.9.30.682

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2025 Vol.21, Issue 3 Preview Page Next Page

Original Article

A Study on the Complexity of Wildfire Disasters in the Era of Climate Change: Integrated Assessment of Environmental, Economic, and Social Dimensions and Strategies for Improving Disaster Management 기후변화 시대 산불 재난의 복합성 연구: 환경·경제·사회 차원 통합 평가와 재난관리 개선 방안: 김민관*
Min-koan Kim*; Post-doctoral Researcher, Korea Construction Standards Center, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang, Republic of Korea

30 September 2025. pp. 682-690

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Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to multidimensionally analyze the damages caused by wildfires across environmental, economic, social, ecological, and health sectors, while identifying the impacts of secondary disasters(landslides and floods) on social infrastructure. Method: Drawing on international guidelines from the UNDRR and IPCC, as well as domestic legislation including the Forest Protection Act and the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management, damage types were classified. Quantitative analysis and legal system evaluation were performed using major wildfire cases in Korea from 2019 to 2025. Result: Results indicate that wildfires induce changes in topographic and hydrological environments, triggering cascading damages to infrastructure like roads, rivers, and communication networks. Notably, the 2025 Uiseong wildfire exhibited complex impacts, including 36,000 evacuees and cultural heritage losses, highlighting response limitations due to fragmented standards for individual disaster elements. Conclusion: In conclusion, effective management of wildfire-induced complex disasters requires shifting from firefighting-centric approaches to preemptive systems focused on multidimensional damage prediction and infrastructure protection. This necessitates revisions to construction standards, development restrictions in high-risk areas, and the implementation of real-time monitoring systems.

Keywords

Wildfire Damage

Multidimensional Analysis

Secondary Disasters

Social Infrastructure

Disaster Management

연구목적: 본 연구는 산불로 인한 환경, 경제, 사회, 생태계, 건강 분야의 피해를 다차원적으로 분석하고, 산불 이후 발생하는 산사태·홍수 등의 2차 재해가 사회기반시설에 미치는 영향을 규명하는 데 목적이 있다. 연구방법: UNDRR, IPCC 등 국제 지침과 ｢산림보호법｣, ｢재난 및 안전관리 기본법｣ 등 국내 법령을 기준으로 피해유형을 분류하고, 2019~2025년 주요 산불 사례를 통해 정량적 분석과 법제도 평가를 실시하였다. 연구결과: 산불은 지형·수문 환경의 변화를 유발하여 도로, 하천, 통신 등 기반시설에 연쇄적 피해를 유발한다. 특히 2025년 의성 산불 사례는 피난민 3만6천 명, 문화재 소실 등 복합피해가 나타났으며, 관련 기준은 각 재해 요소별로 분절되어 대응의 한계가 드러났다. 결론: 산불에 따른 복합재난 대응을 위해서는 단순 진화 중심의 대응에서 벗어나 다차원적 피해 예측 및 기반시설 중심의 사전 예방체계 구축이 필요하다. 이를 위해 건설기준 개정, 위험지역 개발 제한, 실시간 모니터링 체계 도입이 요구된다.

키워드

산불 피해

다차원적 분석

2차 재해

사회기반시설

재난관리

References

Carrasco, J., Acuna, M., Miranda, A., Alfaro, G., Pais, C., Weintraub, A. (2021). “Exploring the multidimensional effects of human activity and land cover on fire occurrence for territorial planning.” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 297, 113428. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113428
Dastour, H., Hassan, Q.K. (2024). “A multidimensional machine learning framework for LST reconstruction and climate variable analysis in forest fire occurrence.” Ecological Informatics, Vol. 83, 102849. 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102849
Fahrudin, A., Andayani, R., George Albert, W.K., Hindarsah, I., Hakim, M.Z., Yusuf, H. (2024). “The impact of social protection on community resilience in the context of climate change and natural disaster.” Journal of Ecohumanism, Vol. 3, No. 8, pp. 1424-1431. 10.62754/joe.v3i8.4824
Jeong, K.-O., Kim, D.-J. (2022). “A study on the improvement of safety management by analyzing the current status and response system of forest fire accidents.” Journal of the Society of Disaster Information, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 457-469. 10.15683/KOSDI.2022.9.30.457
Kala, C.P. (2023). “Environmental and socioeconomic impacts of forest fires: A call for multilateral cooperation and management interventions.” Natural Hazards Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 286-294. 10.1016/j.nhres.2023.04.003
Lambrou, N., Kolden, C., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Anjum, E., Acey, C. (2023). “Social drivers of vulnerability to wildfire disasters: A review of the literature.” Landscape and Urban Planning, Vol. 237, 104797. 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104797
Marcos, B., Gonçalves, J., Alcaraz-Segura, D., Cunha, M., Honrado, J.P. (2023). “Assessing the resilience of ecosystem functioning to wildfires using satellite-derived metrics of post-fire trajectories.” Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 286, 113441. 10.1016/j.rse.2022.113441
Yeom, C., Lee, S.-Y., Park, H., Kwon, C. (2019). “A study on facilities damage characteristics caused by forest fire in Goseong-Gun.” Journal of the Society of Disaster Information, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 469-478. 10.15683/KOSDI.2019.12.31.469
Zhang, D., Wang, W., Xi, Y., Bi, J., Hang, Y., Zhu, Q., Pu, S., Chen, N., Sun, P., Wu, Y., Zhou, X., Li, X., Liu, Y. (2023). “Wildland fires worsened population exposure to PM2.5 pollution in the contiguous United States.” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 57, No. 48, pp. 19990-19998. 10.1021/acs.est.3c05143 37943716 PMC10702504
Zhang, Z., Tian, Y., Wang, G., Zheng, C., Zhao, F. (2024). “A forest fire prediction method for lightning stroke based on remote sensing data.” Forests, Vol. 15, No. 4, 647. 10.3390/f15040647

Information

Publisher :The Korean Society of Disaster Information
Publisher(Ko) :한국재난정보학회
Journal Title :Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
Journal Title(Ko) :한국재난정보학회논문집
Volume : 21
No :3
Pages :682-690
DOI :https://doi.org/10.15683/kosdi.2025.9.30.682

[1] Carrasco, J., Acuna, M., Miranda, A., Alfaro, G., Pais, C., Weintraub, A. (2021). “Exploring the multidimensional effects of human activity and land cover on fire occurrence for territorial planning.” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 297, 113428. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113428

[2] Dastour, H., Hassan, Q.K. (2024). “A multidimensional machine learning framework for LST reconstruction and climate variable analysis in forest fire occurrence.” Ecological Informatics, Vol. 83, 102849. 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102849

[3] Fahrudin, A., Andayani, R., George Albert, W.K., Hindarsah, I., Hakim, M.Z., Yusuf, H. (2024). “The impact of social protection on community resilience in the context of climate change and natural disaster.” Journal of Ecohumanism, Vol. 3, No. 8, pp. 1424-1431. 10.62754/joe.v3i8.4824

[4] Jeong, K.-O., Kim, D.-J. (2022). “A study on the improvement of safety management by analyzing the current status and response system of forest fire accidents.” Journal of the Society of Disaster Information, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 457-469. 10.15683/KOSDI.2022.9.30.457

[5] Kala, C.P. (2023). “Environmental and socioeconomic impacts of forest fires: A call for multilateral cooperation and management interventions.” Natural Hazards Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 286-294. 10.1016/j.nhres.2023.04.003

[6] Lambrou, N., Kolden, C., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Anjum, E., Acey, C. (2023). “Social drivers of vulnerability to wildfire disasters: A review of the literature.” Landscape and Urban Planning, Vol. 237, 104797. 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104797

[7] Marcos, B., Gonçalves, J., Alcaraz-Segura, D., Cunha, M., Honrado, J.P. (2023). “Assessing the resilience of ecosystem functioning to wildfires using satellite-derived metrics of post-fire trajectories.” Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 286, 113441. 10.1016/j.rse.2022.113441

[8] Yeom, C., Lee, S.-Y., Park, H., Kwon, C. (2019). “A study on facilities damage characteristics caused by forest fire in Goseong-Gun.” Journal of the Society of Disaster Information, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 469-478. 10.15683/KOSDI.2019.12.31.469

[9] Zhang, D., Wang, W., Xi, Y., Bi, J., Hang, Y., Zhu, Q., Pu, S., Chen, N., Sun, P., Wu, Y., Zhou, X., Li, X., Liu, Y. (2023). “Wildland fires worsened population exposure to PM2.5 pollution in the contiguous United States.” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 57, No. 48, pp. 19990-19998. 10.1021/acs.est.3c05143 37943716 PMC10702504

[10] Zhang, Z., Tian, Y., Wang, G., Zheng, C., Zhao, F. (2024). “A forest fire prediction method for lightning stroke based on remote sensing data.” Forests, Vol. 15, No. 4, 647. 10.3390/f15040647

Journal of the Society of Disaster Information ISSN:1976-2208(Print) 2671-5287(Online) 한국재난정보학회논문집

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