Sancheong Wildfire 99% Contained ... Only 1km Left

Firefighters are conducting extinguishing operations at the wildfire site in Sancheong, Gyeongnam. Provided by Korea Forest Service

The wildfire in Sancheong, Gyeongnam, which has been ongoing for nine days, has finally reached a containment rate of 99%.

As of 3 p.m. on the 29th, 49 firefighting helicopters, 1,686 personnel, and 223 firefighting vehicles have been deployed to the Sancheong wildfire site, where only 1% of the fire line remains, focusing all efforts on extinguishing the main fire.

The affected area is estimated to be 1,858 hectares, with only 1 kilometer remaining out of a total fire line of 71 kilometers.

Although the major flames have been brought under control, there are still concerns about the fire spreading, so Gyeongnam Province and forest authorities are making every effort to extinguish the fire and prevent reignition.

At one point, there was a brief rainfall, but currently, winds of about 4 to 8 meters per second are blowing, and the thick layer of fallen leaves raises concerns that the fire could spread further.

A firefighting helicopter is spraying water over the wildfire site in Sancheong, Gyeongnam. Video provided by the Korea Forest Service.

According to an overnight investigation by researchers from the National Institute of Forest Science, dense Sasa bamboo covers the lower layer of the forest at the Jirisan wildfire site, while the middle and upper layers are densely populated with Quercus variabilis and pine trees, preventing the firefighting water dropped by helicopters from reaching the ground.

In addition, the layer of fallen leaves is up to 100 cm thick, amounting to about 300 to 500 tons per hectare, causing the wildfire to spread underground and embers to penetrate the leaf layer, leading to reignition.

Moreover, there are no access roads at the wildfire site and the steep slopes make it difficult for firefighting personnel and equipment to approach or carry out firefighting operations.

On the ninth day of battling the blaze, Gyeongnam Province, forest authorities, and fire departments plan to deploy 996 personnel, including wildfire suppression teams, and 201 vehicles to focus on extinguishing the fire and prevent it from spreading below Cheonwangbong in Jirisan.

The forest authorities stated, "We will do our utmost to extinguish the main fire by concentrating firefighting personnel and equipment."