Gyeongnam Sancheong and Hadong Wildfires 88% Contained ... Firefighting Helicopters Deployed

32 Firefighting Helicopters, 1,415 Personnel
215 Firefighting Vehicles Mobilized for Suppression Efforts

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Korea Forest Service announced that as of 5:00 a.m. on the 25th, the wildfire suppression rate in San 39, Sincheon-ri, Sicheon-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam, which broke out at 3:26 p.m. on the 21st, has reached 88%.

A helicopter is extinguishing the wildfire by spraying water. Photo by Yonhap News

The forest authorities plan to mobilize 32 firefighting helicopters at sunrise, deploy 1,415 personnel, and 215 firefighting vehicles to make an all-out effort to suppress the main fire.

The wildfire-affected area is estimated at 1,557 hectares (928 ha in Sancheong, 629 ha in Hadong), with a total fire line of 54 km, of which 47 km (36 km in Sancheong, 11 km in Hadong) have been extinguished, and 7 km (4 km in Sancheong, 3 km in Hadong) are still being suppressed.

The current weather conditions are a westerly wind at 2 m/s (maximum gusts 3-5 m/s), temperature at 12.5°C, and humidity at 35%. All available resources are being devoted to extinguishing the wildfire.

As for resident evacuation, 1,143 people living near the affected villages have completed evacuation to places such as Donguibogamchon. There have been 12 casualties (4 deaths, 8 injuries) and property damage to 60 buildings, including houses.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Korea Forest Service stated, "During the night, we deployed ground firefighting personnel to block the wildfire from reaching residential areas as much as possible, and at sunrise, we are sequentially deploying firefighting helicopters." They added, "We will prioritize safety above all else at the scene to prevent any accidents during the suppression efforts."

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