Uljin Wildfire Contained After 23 Hours... Area Equivalent to 203 Soccer Fields Burned

On the morning of the 29th, as a wildfire spread in the Geunnam-myeon area of Uljin-gun, Gyeongbuk, a firefighting helicopter was spraying water to extinguish the fire. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The main fire of the wildfire that occurred in Uljin, Gyeongbuk on the 28th was extinguished after about 23 hours.

The Korea Forest Service and Gyeongbuk Province declared the main fire of the Uljin wildfire extinguished at 11:40 a.m. on the 29th.

Earlier, around 12:06 p.m. on the 28th, a fire broke out in a hill in Haenggok-ri, Geunnam-myeon, Uljin-gun, and spread to the surrounding mountains and villages driven by strong winds. So far, the affected area of the wildfire is 145 hectares, equivalent to 203 soccer fields (7,140㎡ each).

There were no casualties, but nine buildings in six locations, including the main hall of Bogwangsa Temple and an auto repair shop, were burned.

Nam Seong-hyun, head of the Korea Forest Service, stated, "Since there were not many wildfire situations nationwide, we were able to concentrate helicopters and manpower, and thanks to accumulated know-how and an organic cooperation system, we were able to extinguish the wildfire quickly."

He added, "In previous years, grass would grow in May, so the wildfire risk was not high, but this year dry weather persisted, and due to the topographical influence of the East Coast, strong winds blew, and there were many flammable pine trees, so the wildfire was large. Going forward, forest restoration needs to be done scientifically."

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