Wildfire breaks out in DMZ in Gangwon Province; aerial firefighting 70% complete

A wildfire burning inside the Demilitarized Zone along the eastern front in Goseong-gun, Gangwon Province, was 70 percent contained Saturday before sunset forced a halt to aerial firefighting operations. Authorities plan to redeploy helicopters at sunrise Sunday to extinguish the remaining flames.

The fire broke out at around 1:09 p.m. Saturday inside the DMZ near Oebyeon-ri, Sudong-myeon, Goseong-gun, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The blaze started 1.7 kilometers south of the Military Demarcation Line and 0.3 kilometers north of the Southern Limit Line — deep enough inside the DMZ to make ground access impossible. Forest and fire authorities deployed one helicopter to fight the fire from the air.

Aerial operations brought the fire to about 70 percent containment before sunset forced a suspension at around 7:07 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities plan to send the helicopter back in as soon as daylight returns Sunday. As a precaution against further spread, 18 personnel and six pieces of equipment are on standby near the Southern Limit Line.

Once the fire is fully extinguished, authorities said they will investigate the exact cause and assess the extent of the damage.