OUTBREAK OF WILDFIRES DURING WINTER

[Anchor Lead]

A forest fire in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do Province was put out after destroying some 20,000 square meters in 15 hours. Firefighters had a tough time extinguishing the fire because of the rugged mountain terrain and strong winds. Concerns mount over the risk of big, disastrous wildfires as fires of all sizes have been raging during this dry season.

[Pkg]

A fire spread more than 200 meters along the mountain ridge. Strong gusts of wind are making the conditions worse. Eight firefighting helicopters were deployed in the morning to dump water on the affected areas. They were able to contain the main blaze at around 10:40 am yesterday morning, about 15 hours after the fire started. The rugged terrain made it difficult for the firefighters to reach the burning sites, resulting in the destruction of some 20,000 square meters of national forest.

[Soundbite] KIM SAM-YONG(VILLAGE CHIEF) : "I was really afraid the strong winds would fan the fire towards the village."

On December 5th a fire in Samcheok burned down about 1,000 square meters of forest. Dry weather alerts have been issued for the coastal and mountain areas of Gangwon-do Province for more than ten days now. Strong winds are making things worse. Authorities cannot let their guards down against large wildfires even during winter. In fact, over the past decade, wildfires during the cold season account for 22% of all such incidents.

[Soundbite] CHOI JUN-SEOK(DIRECTOR GENERAL, EASTERN REGIONAL OFFICE OF FOREST SERVICE) : "Conditions are ripe for winter wildfires, so we need to put out embers more thoroughly."

The Korea Forest Service and local government bodies along the east coast have stationed guards at wildfire-prone areas and stepped up crackdowns on burning trash.