Gyeongbuk Uiseong Wildfire 'Extinguished' After 4 Hours 33 Minutes

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] At around 2:37 PM on the 22nd, a wildfire broke out in Jungniri, Uiseong-eup, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, and was extinguished after 4 hours and 33 minutes.

The forestry authorities deployed 18 wildfire-fighting helicopters (16 from the Korea Forest Service, 2 from Gyeongbuk Fire Department) and 151 wildfire-fighting personnel, extinguishing the fire around 7:10 PM, before sunset.

In the early stages of the wildfire, the flames spread rapidly due to strong winds, prompting the issuance of a 'Wildfire Level 1' alert around 4:45 PM. Wildfire Level 1 is issued when the expected damage area is between 5 and 30 hectares and the average wind speed is between 3 and 7 m/s. The mobilization scale includes all personnel and equipment from the jurisdictional agencies and helicopters, plus 50% of personnel and equipment from adjacent agencies.

The forestry authorities plan to monitor the situation 24 hours a day using thermal imaging drones to prevent the wildfire from reigniting due to remaining embers.

Goraksam, Director of the Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters at the Korea Forest Service, explained, "With dry weather warnings in effect in Gyeongsang Province and the atmosphere being very dry, residents near forests are advised to refrain from burning trash or similar activities near forested areas."

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