Korea Forest Service Issues 'Full Mobilization Order' for National Wildfire Helicopters... 74 Helicopters Urgently Deployed

Overnight, the Korea Forest Service's Special Wildfire Disaster Suppression Team has been conducting wildfire suppression operations at the Andong wildfire site. Thanks to the all-night battle by the special suppression team members at the wildfire site, as of 6:30 a.m. on the 22nd, the length of the fire line has shortened to 1.5?2.0 km (previous evening 5?7 km). Provided by the Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A total of 74 wildfire-fighting helicopters will be urgently deployed to wildfire areas including Andong, Gyeongbuk.

The Korea Forest Service Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters announced on the 22nd that it has issued a nationwide wildfire helicopter "full mobilization order" and will urgently deploy helicopters to Andong and Yecheon in Gyeongbuk, Hadong in Gyeongnam, Yeongdong in Chungbuk, and Nonsan in Chungnam.

The wildfire-fighting helicopters will be dispatched to the wildfire sites at sunrise (7:10 AM). By region, 23 helicopters will be deployed to Andong, Gyeongbuk, 14 to Yecheon, 12 to Yeongdong, 19 to Hadong, and 6 to Nonsan. The Wildfire Countermeasures Headquarters plans to flexibly adjust the number of helicopters in operation depending on the situation at the wildfire sites.

According to the Wildfire Countermeasures Headquarters, as of 5:45 PM the previous day, a wildfire crisis alert of "severe" level has been issued for four areas including Andong and Yecheon in Gyeongbuk, Hadong in Gyeongnam, and Yeongdong in Chungbuk, which have experienced nighttime wildfires.

In particular, in Andong, due to the rapid spread of the wildfire the previous evening and concerns about damage to residential areas, an evacuation order was issued for residents in the Mangcheon-ri area of Imdong-myeon.

However, firefighting personnel from the Korea Forest Service, including the Wildfire Disaster Special Firefighting Team deployed on site, have been conducting overnight firefighting operations and constructing firebreaks, and so far no casualties have occurred. It has also been confirmed that the fire front (length of the flames) has relatively shortened.

A Wildfire Countermeasures Headquarters official said, "As overnight firefighting operations have progressed, the length of the fire front, which was 5 to 7 km the previous evening, has shortened to 1.5 to 2.0 km as of 6:30 AM on the 22nd. We expect that with the full mobilization order, helicopters will be deployed to the site at sunrise, further accelerating the firefighting speed."

Meanwhile, the helicopters to be deployed to the wildfire sites under the full mobilization order include 26 from the Korea Forest Service, 17 from the Ministry of National Defense, 8 from the fire department, 20 leased by local governments, 2 from the police, and 1 from the National Parks Service.