Jeongseon Wildfire Difficult to Extinguish Due to Strong Winds and Steep Slopes... Helicopters Withdraw in Darkness

Establishing Containment Lines... Full Effort in Extinguishing with Drone Deployment

At around 3:50 PM on the 20th, a fire broke out at Nochusan Mountain in Gujeolli, Yeoryang-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, and it continues to spread even at night.

A large wildfire broke out on the 20th in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do, and the forestry authorities have been working to extinguish it, but they are facing difficulties due to strong winds and steep terrain.

As it got dark, the forestry authorities withdrew the helicopters and focused on establishing containment lines to prevent further damage.

According to the forestry authorities, the wildfire started around 3:50 p.m. at Nochusan Mountain in Gujeolli, Yeoryang-myeon, Jeongseon-gun.

Once the fire broke out, 11 helicopters including three ultra-large helicopters and five large helicopters from the Korea Forest Service, along with aerial firefighting teams, special firefighting teams, public officials, firefighters, and police totaling 212 personnel, as well as 16 firefighting vehicles and equipment, were deployed to extinguish the fire.

However, the wildfire site is on a steep slope where it is nearly impossible to deploy personnel, and the firefighting efforts were hampered by strong winds blowing at 6.2 m/s.

As the sun set, the firefighting helicopters were withdrawn, and the operation shifted to a nighttime firefighting system by creating containment lines with ground personnel.

The Korea Forest Service deployed a large number of ground firefighting specialists, including special firefighting teams and aerial firefighting teams.

Additionally, two drones were urgently deployed to accurately assess the nighttime wildfire situation and strategically support ground firefighting efforts.

Fearing the wildfire might spread during the night, the fire department and police are protecting the areas around residential houses.

The exact cause and the extent of the damage have not yet been determined.

A Korea Forest Service official said, "Due to consecutive dry and strong wind warnings, the risk of wildfires is high, so caution is needed to prevent wildfires caused by illegal burning or arson by visitors." He added, "Even a wildfire caused by minor negligence can result in the perpetrator facing up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won, so we ask for wildfire prevention in daily life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.