As of 7:00 AM on November 21, the containment rate of the forest fire in Inje, Gangwon Province stands at 68%. With sunrise, firefighting helicopters are being deployed to the site, which is expected to accelerate the extinguishing efforts.
A forest fire broke out around 5:23 p.m. on the 20th in a mountain area in Girin-myeon, Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, and forestry and fire authorities are carrying out firefighting operations. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Central Forest Disaster Situation Room of the Korea Forest Service, the forest fire broke out around 5:29 PM the previous day in a mountain area near Hyeon-ri, Girin-myeon, Inje-gun, Gangwon Province.
After the fire started, the forest authorities issued Forest Fire Response Level 1 at 10:00 PM, as the affected area exceeded 10 hectares. Level 1 is declared when the affected area is estimated to be between 10 and 50 hectares.
At the site, a total of 69 firefighting vehicles (including 24 forest fire suppression and command vehicles, 18 fire engines, and 27 other vehicles) and 338 personnel (including 179 special forest fire suppression team members, 29 forestry officials, 49 firefighters, 6 military personnel, 34 police officers, and 41 volunteer firefighters) were urgently deployed to carry out overnight ground firefighting operations.
However, reports indicate that the rugged terrain of the fire site made suppression efforts difficult.
The forest authorities plan to deploy 30 firefighting helicopters sequentially from sunrise, combining aerial and ground operations to make an all-out effort to fully extinguish the fire.
As of 7:00 AM on November 21, the affected area at the Inje, Gangwon Province forest fire site is estimated at 34.6 hectares, with a total fire line of 3.7 kilometers. Of this, 2.5 kilometers (68%) have been extinguished.
An official from the Korea Forest Service stated, "Due to the dry weather, there is a high risk that even small embers could spread into a large-scale forest fire," and urged residents to refrain from burning trash or agricultural waste in areas adjacent to forests.
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