Police Investigate Basic Facts from Grave Visitors
Uiseong County Also Plans to Question Suspected Arsonists on Fire Circumstances
A village resident claimed to have witnessed a group of grave visitors, suspected to be the arsonists of a large forest fire in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, hastily descending the mountain at the time, according to Yonhap News.
According to Yonhap News on the 23rd, a resident of Gwaesan 1-ri, Mr. A, heard the news of a forest fire occurring around 11:24 a.m. the previous day at the top of a hill in Gwaesan-ri, Anpyeong-myeon, Uiseong-gun, and headed to the fire site first.
About 30 minutes after the fire started, around 11:55 a.m., Mr. A arrived near the scene and encountered a group of grave visitors coming down from the fire area. Mr. A said, "I met a group of grave visitors coming down in a hurry. When I stopped and asked where they were going, they couldn’t answer."
He added, "They hesitated and tried to leave, so I thought it was not right. I took photos of the license plates of the cars they came in and told them not to run away." He claimed, "Later, the police took them away."
On the 22nd, a firefighter is extinguishing a fire at a factory building where a wildfire spread in Jungniri, Uiseong-eup, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk. Photo by Yonhap News.
A lighter was found at the fire site. The police reportedly confirmed basic facts with the grave visitors.
Uiseong-gun stated, "The forest fire on the hill in Gwaesan-ri was caused by arson by grave visitors. When the fire broke out, the arsonist directly reported to 119, saying, 'I accidentally started a fire while tidying the grave.'" Uiseong-gun plans to investigate the exact cause of the fire with the suspected arsonists once the fire is extinguished.
Villagers also shared stories of seeing the fire spread rapidly with the wind at the scene. Mr. A said upon arriving, "The fire had already spread uncontrollably." He added, "The fire quickly spread toward Sinwol-ri, driven by strong winds. I immediately informed the county that helicopters should be deployed."
Mr. An (47), who operates a poultry farm nearby, also said, "The fire that started at the top kept spreading toward the poultry farm and came right up to the doorstep. Fortunately, we extinguished the fire with firefighters, so the poultry farm is safe."
On the 23rd, the second day of the large forest fire in Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk, a Korea Forest Service helicopter is extinguishing the fire in a nearby mountain forest near the fire outbreak site in Uiseong-gun. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Korea Forest Service and Gyeongbuk Province on the 24th, authorities have deployed 59 firefighting helicopters, 2,600 personnel including firefighting teams, and 377 pieces of equipment to the Uiseong wildfire site around sunrise at 6:30 a.m. to carry out firefighting operations.
Currently, the wildfire site is experiencing winds of about 1 m/s, which is somewhat calmer than the previous day, but strong winds reaching up to 15 m/s are expected during the day as time passes.
The overall containment rate of the Uiseong wildfire is 60%, with the affected area estimated at 6,078 hectares. Of the total 101 km of fire lines, 39.8 km remain uncontrolled. Due to slow firefighting progress, 1,554 residents of Uiseong-gun have evacuated to indoor gymnasiums and other shelters, and so far, 94 facilities have been damaged.
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