Parched Mountains and Fields... Summer Wildfires on High Alert Amid Drought

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As prolonged heatwaves leave both mountains and fields bone-dry, summer wildfires are breaking out one after another. Putting out fires is not only difficult amid the extreme heat, but a severe lack of water due to the drought is making firefighting efforts even harder.

KNN Reporter Jung Gi-hyung.

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Smoke rises from a mountain in Hamyang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Fortunately, a firefighting helicopter was dispatched immediately, and the fire was put out.

Believed to have been caused by negligence, residents were left startled by the unseasonal summer wildfire.

[Cho Mi-jung / Hamyang-eup, Hamyang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do : I was honestly startled, worrying that it might spread again, just like in Sancheong or Macheon (in Hamyang) last time. The fires were huge back then. So naturally, I was worried.]

Another fire broke out on a mountain in Anui-myeon, Hamyang-gun.

Earlier this month, fields in Sangnam-myeon, Miryang-si, were burned, and another wildfire had occurred in Miryang half a month prior to that.

While there were only 8 wildfires nationwide in August of last year, 5 have already broken out in less than a week this year.

Severe heatwaves and droughts have left fields and mountains piled with dry grass and fallen leaves, raising the high risk of fires spreading rapidly.

Miryang, which is experiencing the worst drought in Gyeongsangnam-do, saw its cumulative rainfall last month fall short of 20 percent of normal years.

As a result, both mountains and fields are completely parched.

[Cheon In-su / Wildfire Management Officer, Forest Management Division, Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government : The upper parts of the trees have relatively acceptable moisture levels, so the fire doesn't expand significantly into the canopy, but heavy smoke is generated as it burns fiercely along the surface and spreads rapidly.]

Because winds are weaker than in spring and winter, the probability of them spreading into large-scale wildfires is low.

However, firefighting operations themselves are exhausting amid the heatwaves, and a shortage of water due to the drought is the reality.

[Nam Gi-hun / Professor, Department of Fire and Disaster Protection, Inje University : In a drought situation, if it becomes difficult to supply water from nearby sources, the drawback is that a lot of time is consumed in putting out wildfires.]

With heatwaves and droughts increasing the risk of unseasonal summer wildfires, residents living near wooded areas are growing increasingly anxious.

(Photo: KNN / Reporter: Kwon Yong-guk, Video Editing: Kim Beom-jun, Footage Provided by: Korea Forest Service & Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Headquarters)

KNN Jung Gi-hyung
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.