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Helicopter operations resume as firefighters continue to battle Daegu wildfire

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 09:30

Government officials prepare to join clean-up operations for the wildfire, set up at the Joya branch campus of Daegu Seobyeon Elementary School on the morning of April 29, the second day of a large wildfire in Daegu. [YONHAP]

Firefighting authorities resumed helicopter operations as a wildfire on Mount Hamji in Buk District, Daegu, continued into its second day. As of 8 a.m., 82 percent of the fire has been put out, according to the Korea Forest Service.

According to the Korea Forest Service on Tuesday, authorities began dispatching 51 firefighting helicopters, 1,388 personnel and 204 pieces of equipment to the wildfire site in Nogok-dong and Joya-dong as soon as the sun rose.

A wildfire that broke out around 2:01 p.m. on April 28 on Mount Hamji in Buk District, Daegu, continues to spread at daybreak of April 29. [YONHAP]

Winds at the site were reported to be mild as of 6:17 a.m., averaging less than 1 meter per second (2.2 miles per hour), with forecasts predicting wind speeds between 1 and 3 meters per second in the afternoon.

The wildfire initially broke out at 2:01 p.m. on Monday in Mount Hamji in Nogok-dong, and quickly spread to nearby Joya-dong due to strong winds.

Authorities escalated their response to the highest alert of Level 3 about four hours after the fire broke out, at 6 p.m. A large number of helicopters, personnel and equipment were deployed to contain the fire.

A wildfire that broke out around 2:01 p.m. on April 28 on Mount Hamji in Buk District, Daegu, continues to spread into the night. [YONHAP]

Smoke blankets the Bukdaegu IC on the Gyeongbu Expressway, where both entrances and exits are closed, well into the evening of April 28 as a wildfire that started around 2:01 p.m. earlier that day on Mount Hamji in Buk District, Daegu, continues to burn past sunset. [NEWS1]

As evacuation orders are issued for more than 5,000 nearby residents due to a wildfire on Mount Hamji in Buk District, Daegu, tents are set up for evacuees at the gymnasium of Yeongyeong Elementary School in the early hours of April 29. [YONHAP]

An elderly evacuee eats breakfast at a shelter set up at Paldal Elementary School in Daegu's Buk District on April 29, the second day of the large wildfire that broke out on Mount Hamji. [YONHAP]

After sunset, firefighting operations shifted to a nighttime strategy. A total of 1,515 personnel, including members of the airborne firefighting unit and special forest fire disaster teams, along with 15 high-performance firefighting vehicles and 398 additional pieces of equipment, worked overnight to suppress the fire and build firebreaks.

As of 4 a.m. on Tuesday, the fire in Nogok-dong and Joya-dong was 60 percent contained, with the affected area estimated at 244 hectares (603 acres).

Of the total fire line measuring 11.8 kilometers (7.33 miles), about 4.7 kilometers remained uncontained.

Helicopters drop water over the wildfire in Mount Hamji in Daegu on the morning of April 29. [YONHAP]

Volunteers and government officials move breakfast meals at a shelter set up at Paldal Elementary School in Daegu's Buk District on April 29, the second day of a large wildfire that broke out on Mount Hamji. [YONHAP]

"The dry weather accelerated the spread of the fire, and the rugged terrain without forest roads made it difficult to advance during nighttime operations," the Korea Forest Service said. "We are making every effort to extinguish the main fire."

Meanwhile, the entrances and exits of the Bukdaegu IC on the Gyeongbu Expressway have been reopened as of 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The Bukdaegu IC had been shut down at 4 p.m. on Monday due to the wildfire.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]