South Korea firefighters extinguish wildfire

A large wildfire in south-eastern South Korea has been extinguished after 27 hours, following firefighting efforts which included the mobilization of 39 firefighting helicopters and 2,500 personnel.

The fire, which began at around 14:00 hrs on Monday 28 February on a hill in Hapcheon county, in South Gyeongsang Province. It quickly spread north towards nearby villages in Goryeong County, in neighbouring North Gyeongsang Province. According to the Korea Forest Service (KFS), the blaze was largely under control by around 18:00 hrs on 1 March.

The Korea Meteorological Administration currently has a ‘Dry Air Advisory’ in place for Hapcheon, although temperatures remain low in the region.

15 helicopters will remain on standby in the area

Following the end of the blaze, mobilization orders for firefighting forces in nearby cities and provinces were lifted. However, a total of 15 firefighting helicopters will be kept on standby, while remaining the firefighters, assisted by drones, will monitor and extinguish remaining signs of fire.

The blaze is estimated to have damaged approximately 675 hectares of forest and caused the evacuation of over 500 people – however no casualties have been reported.

It follows the extinguishing of a similar three-day blaze in the south-eastern county of Yeongdeok on 17 February, which damaged around 400 hectares of land and displaced over 1,000 residents.

Officials from KFS said that 40 firefighting helicopters had been deployed in response to that fire, alongside approximately 2,200 personnel. The fire was reportedly driven by heavy winds and dry weather, which initially caused challenges in controlling it.