Firefighters battling wildfire in S.Korean coastal county

Seoul, Feb 17 (IANS) About 40 firefighting helicopters and more than 1,100 personnel resumed operations to extinguish a wildfire in South Korea's coastal county of Yeongdeok on Thursday as the blaze remains uncontained for the second consecutive day.The fire started on a mountain in Yeongdeok, about 350 km southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday, reports Yonhap News Agency. It was extinguished but reignited overnight and spread to nearby residential areas the previous day, according to firefighters and local officials.The fire is presumed to have damaged more than 100 hectares of land, forcing the evacuation of 1,000 residents in nearby villages. No casualties were reported.A total of 38 firefighting helicopters, along with 1,200 personnel, were mobilised to contain the fire the previous day, but they had difficulties containing the blaze due to heavy wind and dry weather.Fire lines were set up around the blaze to keep it from spreading further overnight.The Korea Forest Service said the firefighting helicopters and firefighters resumed their operations earlier in the day as soon as the sun rose.Local officials said an initial investigation indicated the fire was first started by sparks generated when a stray piece of solar reflective film, used for agriculture, hit a utility pole.
--IANS ksk/

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