Forest Fire in Bonghwa, Gyeongbuk 'Main Fire Extinguished'... Transition to Backfire Monitoring System

A wildfire suppression helicopter is dropping a large amount of water over the wildfire site from the sky. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Bonghwa) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The main fire suppression of the Bonghwa wildfire in Gyeongbuk has been completed. It took about 17 hours since the wildfire broke out.

On the 6th, the Korea Forest Service Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters announced that the main fire suppression of the Bonghwa wildfire was completed around 7 a.m. that day.

The Bonghwa wildfire occurred around 1:29 p.m. the previous day in Hwacheon-ri, Bonghwa-eup, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk, and was extinguished after 17 hours and 30 minutes.

Immediately after the wildfire broke out, 25 wildfire suppression helicopters including super-large helicopters and 804 wildfire suppression personnel were deployed to the site to carry out firefighting activities.

In particular, the Korea Forest Service issued a 'Wildfire Level 3' alert at 7 p.m. the previous day, mobilizing all available firefighting resources and strategically deploying special wildfire suppression teams and other resources to accelerate the wildfire suppression.

The Bonghwa wildfire caused damage including the complete destruction of one nearby house and two warehouses. The Korea Forest Service estimates that 120 hectares of the wildfire-affected area were lost. However, no casualties were reported due to the wildfire.

Currently, to prevent the wildfire from reigniting, thermal imaging drones and firefighting personnel have been deployed on site, and wildfire suppression helicopters are being used to extinguish remaining fires and monitor for flare-ups.

The Korea Forest Service plans to investigate the exact cause of the wildfire and the extent of the damage through an investigation and inspection team.

Meanwhile, the Korea Forest Service protected cultural assets in Gyeongbuk located near the wildfire damage area in Hwacheon-ri, Bonghwa-gun, including Guman Seowon Confucian Academy, Bonghwa Pavilion, Hoeidang, Gwacheonjeong, and Dongcheonjeong, which were built during the late Joseon Dynasty, from the wildfire.

Notably, a Korea Forest Service wildfire suppression team member discovered and rescued a Eurasian eagle-owl, a natural monument (No. 324) and endangered wild animal, at the wildfire site and handed it over to related organizations.

Im Sang-seop, director of the Korea Forest Service Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters, said, “As strong winds are forecast nationwide, the risk of wildfires is also increasing,” and urged, “Please exercise special caution when handling fire sources such as burning, smoking, and cooking near forest-adjacent areas.”

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