A forest fire that broke out in Yunlin County’s Gukeng Township (古坑) early on Monday has been brought under control, but continued to burn sporadically yesterday as firefighting teams struggled with the area’s harsh terrain and lack of water.
The Yunlin County Fire Department yesterday said that the burned area had not expanded beyond an estimated 8 hectares of woodland as of Tuesday afternoon, after putting the damage at 5 hectares earlier on Tuesday.
However, small blazes were still being detected yesterday below a high-altitude wooden skywalk within a restricted area, and open flames were also reported in bamboo groves above the mountainous area’s Shoutian Temple.
Photo courtesy of reader Chen Jung-pin
Firefighting operations continued during the day, with ground crews divided into two teams to contain and monitor the fire in forested areas and near the temple.
As of about 8am, air crews had completed three additional water-dropping runs, the department said.
The fire began early on Monday morning in mountainous forestland behind Shibi Hotel (also known as Rocky Hotel) in Caoling Village (草嶺), but the cause of the fire has yet to be determined and remains under investigation, the department said.
Firefighting operations have been hampered by the lack of nearby water sources and the area’s steep, rugged terrain, which has forced firefighters to hike to the site on foot and complicated containment efforts, officials said.
Firefighters, volunteer fire brigades and Caoling residents on Tuesday joined forces at the scene, and helicopters carried out 13 water drops, helping to eventually bring the fire under control, the department said.
Meanwhile, amid concerns about the risk of landslides that threaten residents, the Yunlin County Agricultural Department said it would begin forest restoration efforts once the safety alert had been lifted.
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