Forest fires in Andong and Yecheon in Gyeongsangbuk-do and Yeongdong in Chungbuk have not extinguished for 16 hours. The Andong forest fire has not caught even a big flame as of 9 am on the 22nd.
Forest Service, etc. “70 helicopters put into the fire site”
Delivered the extinguishing rate of 4 forest fires by the Korea Forest Service
The Forest Service and the fire department said, “At around 7 am on the 22nd, about 70 helicopters deployed to local governments across the country were divided into large forest fire sites such as Andong.”
Andong-si and Yecheon-gun side said, “We are mobilizing all public officials to extinguish forest fires on a large scale. Fortunately, there have been no reports of major damage such as human damage or burning of the entire village.”
The Forest Service currently estimates the fire extinguishing rate at 10% in Andong and 70% in Yecheon. Forest fires in Ha-dong, Gyeongnam have an extinguishing rate of 70%, and in Yeongdong, Chungcheongbuk-do, it is counted at 60-70%. Currently, there is no obstacle to helicopter operation as winds of about 3 to 4 m per second are blowing in these areas.
On the 21st, forest fires broke out across the country, causing an emergency to the forest and firefighting authorities and local governments. In a rather dry weather, the wind blows strongly, and suppression work is expected to continue over the night. The photo shows the fire scene in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. yunhap news
On the 21st, a holiday, between 2:41 pm and 4:18 pm, a series of large wildfires occurred in four places nationwide.
These include Akyang-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Mangcheon-ri, Imdong-myeon, Andong-si, Gyeongbuk, Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, and Yasan, Maegok-myeon, Yeongdong-gun, Chungbuk. Firefighting authorities and local governments mobilized dozens of helicopters and fire trucks, and hundreds of firefighters and local government officials were put in to extinguish forest fires.
However, the fire continued to spread, burning dry trees with the strong wind at night. In particular, wildfires in the mountains of Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, burned in the southwest wind and moved to Yasan, Yeongju-si, Gyeongbuk-do at night.
On the afternoon of the 21st, a fire of unknown cause occurred in a hill in Mangcheon-ri, Imdong-myeon, Andong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and firefighters are working to extinguish it. (Provided by Korea Forest Service) News 1
Forest fires once came down close to private houses where residents lived. Fire departments have built fire lines to prevent fires from spreading to private homes. Some residents of the Andong area evacuated the flames to a neighboring village and spent the night open.
In addition to the four large-scale wildfires that have not yet caught fire, three small-scale wildfires followed on the 21st. A forest fire broke out at around 2:19 PM in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, and then extinguished around 3:7 PM.
A forest fire broke out at around 10:49 a.m. on this day when the wind blew a little in the mountains behind the village of Biparis, Hadong-eup, Gyeongnam, and then extinguished within an hour and burned 0.5 ha of forest.
In addition, there were small wildfires in Geochang, Gyeongnam and Namwon, Jeollabuk-do. In the afternoon of the 21st in Beolgok-myeon, Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, a fire still extinguished. The Korea Forest Service said, “It was counted that there were seven large and small fires a day on the 21st.”
Forest fires that occurred in a series of fires ignited the dryness of the mountains in the spring, such as a’breeze’ in early spring and dry trees. At the time of the first ignition of the four forest fire areas on the afternoon of the 21st, the wind speed was 4m to 5.6m per second. In dry weather, the mountains were dry.
Gong Ha-seong, a professor at Woosuk University’s Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention, said, “The outbreak and spread of forest fires are both affected by the wind.” “Andong forest fires are spreading because of the wind blowing in the region. The dry spring season is a time when it is vulnerable to wildfires.” He added, “The cause of the fire will need to be investigated, but there may be a number of causes, such as the possibility of a real fire, natural occurrence of mountaineers or residents preparing for the busy season,” he added.
Daegu = Reporter Kim Yun-ho, Young Dong = Reporter Choi Jong-kwon
[email protected]