A wildfire at Yushan National Park is now under control after a six-day battle involving hundreds of firefighters, dozens of helicopter sorties, and 88 tons of water.
A forest fire that’s raged for nearly a week in southern Taiwan’s Yushan National Park couldn’t have come at a worse time. Taiwan is in the midst of its worst drought in decades. And to make matters worse, the burning area is far from easy-to-reach sources of water, making it that much harder to put the fire out.
In all, 533 firefighters were put on the case. Some fought the fire directly on the ground, while others doused it from above with 88 tons of water during a total of 47 helicopter flights. Still others used backhoes to dig a trench where water could collect.
The fire began on May 16, when National Communications Commission special committee member Joseph Chiao accidentally knocked over a gas stove while cooking breakfast at a camping site. Chiao has publicly apologized for starting the fire. But he and fellow campers with him at the time are under investigation for possible violations of the Forestry Act.
The fire is now under control, but 57 hectares of forest are burnt and will take time to recover.