No Human Casualties as It Did Not Spread to Residential Areas
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The wildfire that broke out at Bukhansan Mountain in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, at around 11:48 a.m. on the 30th was fully extinguished after about five hours.
According to the fire authorities, the fire started on the 5th ridge of Jokduribong Peak at Bukhansan and burned an area of approximately 5,000㎡ before being completely extinguished at 5:04 p.m. This area exceeds two-thirds of a soccer field (7,140㎡).
Initially, 300㎡ was damaged, but as the flames spread upward, the affected area increased.
The distance from the fire site to the apartments where residents live was only about 300 meters, but the flames did not spread toward the residential area, and there were no casualties as hikers quickly descended following the fire authorities' instructions.
The fire department issued a 'Response Level 1' alarm, which mobilizes all personnel from the local fire station, at 12:38 p.m., just 50 minutes after the report was received, and managed to control the major fire by 2:32 p.m. The Response Level 1 was lifted at 5:04 p.m.
On that day, a total of about 600 personnel, including 154 firefighters, police, district office staff, the Korea Forest Service, and the military, were mobilized, and five helicopters from the Korea Forest Service and fire department were deployed for firefighting operations. The forestry authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire.
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