Wildfire in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do Extinguished After 18 Hours... Estimated 12ha of Forest Lost

A fire broke out around 3:50 PM on the 20th at Nochusan Mountain in Gujeolli, Yeoryang-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, and continues to spread even at night. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] A wildfire that broke out on Nochusan Mountain in Gujeolli, Yeoryang-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, was extinguished after 18 hours.

The forestry authorities deployed 14 helicopters, including two super-large helicopters from the Korea Forest Service, along with firefighting teams, local governments, and the military. On the ground, 421 personnel and 33 pieces of equipment were mobilized to control the flames by 9:40 a.m. on the 21st and are currently monitoring for flare-ups.

It is estimated that 12 hectares (120,000㎡) of national forest were burned in the fire, with no casualties reported.

When the fire broke out around 3:50 p.m. the previous day, the forestry authorities dispatched 11 helicopters, including three super-large helicopters and five large helicopters, as well as 212 personnel consisting of aerial firefighting teams, special firefighting teams, government officials, firefighters, and police officers, along with 16 firefighting vehicles and equipment to combat the blaze.

However, the wildfire site was on a steep slope almost impossible to access by personnel, and strong winds blowing at 6.2 m/s made firefighting efforts difficult.

As night fell, the firefighting helicopters withdrew, and ground personnel and equipment created containment lines to prevent the fire from spreading, switching to a nighttime firefighting system. At sunrise, a large number of helicopters were deployed to extinguish the main fire.

The forestry authorities believe the fire started in farmland near residential areas and plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage together with local governments and firefighting agencies.

A Korea Forest Service official stated, "If the arsonist is caught, they will be severely punished," adding, "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 and careless behavior by visitors."

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