Eastern regions battle wildfires as dry weather continues over weekend

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Eastern regions battle wildfires as dry weather continues over weekend

A fire breaks out on a mountain in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang, on Jan. 12. [KOREA FOREST SERVICE]

A fire breaks out on a mountain in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang, on Jan. 12. [KOREA FOREST SERVICE]

 
The Korean Peninsula is seeing wildfires in eastern regions as the dry weather continues and forms favorable conditions for blazes to spread.
 
The Korea Forest Service reported a wildfire had broken out at a mountain in Yeongdeok County in North Gyeongsang at around 8:29 a.m. on Sunday. The blaze was contained at around 9:50 a.m. with the help of five firefighting helicopters, 41 fire trucks and 196 personnel. Authorities will assess the specific amount of loss and damage and investigate the blaze's cause.
 
In February 2022, the county lost almost 1,000 acres of forest due to a wildfire. This marked the first incident in a decade where 40 helicopters were mobilized to extinguish a single fire. At the time, a dry air advisory was issued on the eastern side of North Gyeongsang. The advisory is placed when humidity is expected to be 35 percent or lower for at least two consecutive days.
 

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On Saturday, a wildfire also occurred at a mountain in South Jeolla at around 9:44 p.m. It was completely put out after 3.5 hours of firefighting. Some 13 fire trucks and 71 firefighters were deployed. Also, another wildfire ignited and damaged some mountainous areas in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Friday afternoon.
 
The National Forest Service said that the country has experienced 21 wildfires this year as of Sunday.
 
Most of this year's wildfires occurred in the eastern side of the nation where dry air advisories are in effect. The forest service issued the second lowest “caution” alert, from its four-tier disaster system, for Ulsan, North Gyeongsang and Gangwon.
 
A forest service official said the air is arid and poses a high risk for forest fires, asking people to take extra caution in managing fire equipment. The official said those who cause wildfires, even by minor negligence, can face imprisonment of three years or less or a fine of up to 30 million won ($20,351).
 
According to the Korea Forest Service, 32.9 percent of wildfires over the last 10 years were caused by hikers or people on mountains. Some 12.6 percent were from burning trash and 11.9 percent from burning farmland to eradicate pests and insects.
 

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, SHIN JIN-HO [[email protected]]
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