A Real-Time Decision Support Framework for Helicopter Dispatch During Multiple Simultaneous Forest Fires in the Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea experiences over 500 forest fires annually, consuming more than 4000 ha. Helicopters are the primary resource for initial attack, but effectively dispatching these limited resources during multiple simultaneous fires poses a significant challenge, as these incidents compete for the same pool of helicopter resources. To support real-time, operational-level helicopter dispatch decisions, an interactive decision support framework was developed that integrates information gathering, fire prioritization, and dispatch optimization. This framework employs an integer linear programming (ILP) approach to minimize the weighted sum of suppression costs and resulting burn perimeters, while allowing for uncontained fires when fire spread rates exceed the cumulative suppression capacity of available helicopters. The framework was applied to two test cases: (1) five hypothetical simultaneous fire incidents, and (2) four actual simultaneous fire incidents recorded on 22 March 2025, with the resulting solutions compared against manual dispatch decisions made by the Korea Forest Service (KFS). The results demonstrate the framework’s capability to analyze diverse fire suppression scenarios and generate a range of effective dispatch options. By integrating real-time fire behavior simulation and optimization, incorporating fire damage potential, and replicating the Republic of Korea’s unique suppression practices, this framework aims to enhance real-time helicopter dispatch decision-making, contributing to the KFS’s ongoing efforts to integrate scientific knowledge into forest fire suppression and management.