Goseong Wildfire Main Fire Extinguished After 12 Hours, "Mop-up Operations Underway"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] The main fire of the wildfire in Goseong, Gangwon Province was extinguished after 12 hours. The Korea Forest Service announced on the morning of the 2nd, "The main fire has been extinguished and we are now cleaning up the remaining embers."

With the sunrise on the same day, the forestry authorities deployed 38 firefighting helicopters and 5,134 personnel to the wildfire site. The helicopters were dispatched sequentially from all over the country and divided into five groups to spray water. Among them were 18 helicopters from the Korea Forest Service (4 extra-large, 13 large, and 1 medium), 15 from military units, 2 rented by fire departments, and 1 from the National Park Service. Ground firefighting personnel also joined the efforts as daylight broke.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Goseong wildfire broke out around 8:04 p.m. on the 1st. The fire started in a residential area in Dowon-ri, Toseong-myeon, and spread to nearby hills. Fueled by typhoon-strength winds known as "Yangganjipung," it rapidly expanded. One house, one cowshed, and one boiler room were completely destroyed by the fire. It is estimated that about 85 hectares of forest were lost. Approximately 2,200 people, including 329 residents from Dowon-ri, Hakya-ri, and Unbong-ri, and 1,876 soldiers from the Army's 22nd Division, evacuated to six locations such as Ayajin Elementary School and Cheonjin Elementary School. They stayed awake through the night, closely monitoring the firefighting situation. So far, no casualties have been reported.

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