‘Surion’ Deployed to Extinguish Uljin Nighttime Wildfire... Tasked with Preventing Rekindling

The Surion helicopter (KUH-1FS) owned by the Korea Forest Service is preparing to take off for nighttime firefighting operations at the Uljin wildfire site. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Uljin) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Surion helicopter (KUH-1FS) has been deployed to extinguish a nighttime wildfire in Uljin.

The Korea Forest Service's Forest Aviation Headquarters announced on the 11th that the Surion was deployed to the nighttime wildfire site in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, to prevent the spread of the wildfire.

The Surion is a medium-sized aircraft introduced in 2016 and has been used for nighttime firefighting training since 2018. This helicopter is capable of night flight, can carry 2,000 liters of water, and can stay airborne for 180 minutes.

Currently, the Korea Forest Service owns one Surion, which is operated by the Seoul Forest Aviation Management Office.

The Surion will refill water at the hangar and drop water over the wildfire area in Sogwang-ri, focusing on preventing further spread of the wildfire during the night.

Ko Gi-yeon, head of the Forest Aviation Headquarters, said, “We will focus on extinguishing remaining flames and managing areas at risk of wildfire re-ignition by deploying the Surion to the site.”

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