Fire Containment Rate at 95% for Uiseong Wildfire in Gyeongbuk... "All-Out Effort to Extinguish Main Fires in Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk"

The containment rate of the wildfire in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk has risen to 95%. The forestry authorities are accelerating the suppression of the main fire by deploying helicopters and firefighting personnel at sunrise.

The wildfire aerial firefighting team is conducting wildfire suppression activities at night. Photo by Korea Forest Service

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (hereafter, CDSCH) of the Korea Forest Service on the 28th, as of 5 a.m. that day, the containment rate of the Uiseong wildfire is 95%.

At the same time, the wildfire-affected area is estimated to be 12,821 hectares, and the total fire line is 277 km. Of the entire fire line, 263 km have been extinguished, and the remaining 14 km are currently being suppressed.

The forestry authorities have deployed 41 firefighting helicopters, 2,152 firefighting personnel, and 284 firefighting vehicles to the Uiseong wildfire site at sunrise to suppress the main fire. At the site, a southwest wind with a maximum speed of 2 to 3 m/s is blowing.

In Gyeongbuk, the containment rates of wildfires are 85% in Andong, 89% in Cheongsong, 76% in Yeongyang, and 65% in Yeongdeok.

The containment rate of the wildfires in Sancheong and Hadong, Gyeongnam, is 86%, with 60 km of the total 70 km fire line extinguished. The wildfire-affected area in this region is estimated to be 1,770 hectares. At the Sancheong and Hadong wildfire sites, a north-northwest wind with a maximum speed of 3 to 5 m/s is blowing.

The forestry authorities are putting all their efforts into suppressing the main fires by deploying helicopters and other firefighting resources at sunrise to all wildfire sites in Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk, including Uiseong.

A CDSCH official said, “We have deployed ground firefighting personnel overnight to block the wildfire from reaching residential areas as much as possible, and at sunrise, firefighting helicopters are being sequentially deployed to the wildfire sites,” adding, “We will do our utmost to ensure that the main fire suppression is completed safely without any accidents at the firefighting sites.”