Namyangju, a city in Gyeonggi Province, is expanding its artificial intelligence-based wildfire surveillance infrastructure in partnership with the Gyeonggi Northern Branch of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
The city announced Monday that it signed an agreement with KEPCO's Gyeonggi Northern Branch to install wildfire surveillance cameras on transmission towers. The move aims to eliminate blind spots in existing monitoring systems and strengthen early response capabilities as large-scale wildfires become more frequent due to climate change.
The newly deployed cameras combine high-resolution imaging equipment with AI technology. The system detects and analyzes anomalies such as flames and smoke in real time, immediately alerting the wildfire situation room. Thermal imaging capabilities also enable wildfire identification at night.
Transmission towers are well suited as surveillance camera sites because they offer wide views of forested areas from elevated positions. Under the agreement, the city will pursue the following initiatives:
△ Installing surveillance cameras on transmission towers
△ Building a real-time monitoring system
△ Strengthening coordination with wildfire response agencies
The city said it has established a foundation for closely managing forested areas that were previously difficult to monitor under the existing system. It plans to gradually expand camera installations, focusing on areas with high wildfire risk.
"Wildfires are disasters where early response is critical, making surveillance systems more important than anything else," Namyangju Mayor Joo Kwang-deok said. "We will strengthen cooperation with related agencies to build a wildfire response system with no gaps."