This study aimed to examine the relationship between large-scale forest fires and environmental characteristics. The study focused on the Hongseong Wildfire area in Chungcheongnam-do, which was the most damaging wildfire on Korea's west coast since 2003, when the Korea Forest Service began recording official forest fire statistics. The analysis of fire-damaged areas and damage intensity was conducted using Sentinel-2 satellite images. Environmental characteristics considered in the study included road density, altitude, and vegetation type within the fire-damaged area, and the relationship between forest fires and each of these characteristics was analyzed. According to the Austrian forest road calculation standard, road density was found to be 134.7 m/ha, indicating that roads were densely distributed throughout the forest. The analysis showed that proximity to roads was correlated with larger areas of fire damage, whereas damage areas tended to decrease the farther they were from roads. There was no clear trend regarding altitude, likely because the study area predominantly consisted of low-altitude terrain, making altitude an insignificant factor. Vegetation type, however, showed a strong correlation with forest fire damage. Coniferous forests, mostly composed of pine trees, accounted for 80.1% of the total damaged area. The intensity of damage in coniferous forests was also significantly higher compared to other vegetation types. In Korea, pine forests tend to rapidly transition into broad-leaved forests through ecological succession. Therefore, it was concluded that the most effective way to reduce forest fire damage would be to limit forest management practices that hinder this natural succession. Furthermore, the expansion of forest roads, currently promoted as a forest fire suppression measure, was deemed ineffective in reducing fire damage.