On April 4, 2019. Gangwon Province, an area of mountain ranges and forests, was in flames. Three different cases of fire in the same province were reported with only a few hours apart. All of them began to blaze uncontrolled through the forests. The first fire, cause unknown, erupted at 2: 45 p.m. Another fire started at 7:16 pm, caused by a spark erupted from electric lines. Someone was nearby and used a fire extinguisher. The fire brigade arrived in three minutes after it was reported. And yet, it spread. Four hours later, another fire with an unknown cause started. Firefighters tried to quench the flames, however, with strong winds, near tornado levels, and low humidity the three fires spread at an unimaginable rate.
Normally, in case of a mountain fire, helicopters are used to reach inaccessible areas. But they could not be used after sunset due to poor visibility. Firefighters, however, were able to stall the fire from reaching populated areas, allowing 4011 people to evacuate.
On April 5, which is also “National tree planting day” in Korea. The government had to declare a State of Disaster. Fire brigades from other provinces were called in to help. A quarter of the nation’s firefighting capability gathered at one point. With more than one million people, including civil servants and soldiers for the firefighting effort, the fire slowly began to die down. The collective effort to quench the fires was successful, but only after a total of 1,757 hectares (around 4,341 acres) of land was burned. After the fires were extinguished, damage assessment began. Although the incident ended with no damage to historical sites and no casualties among the personnel involved in the firefighting, two civilians died from this disaster, and at least 400 homes were burnt leaving around 700 people homeless.
Sungwon Mun | Staff Writer
Commentaires