A forest fire happened in Yuli, Hualien. Helicopters extinguish fire urgently.
About 3 pm on August 6th, a forest fire happened near Sungpuli, Yuli, Hualien. The fire station of Hualien county dispatched fire trucks to put out the fire. Fire trucks cannot access the mountainous area; thus, air support was urgently applied for. After receiving the message, the National Airborne Service Corps, MOI immediately dispatched the crews of Type UH-1H (No. NA-512) task engine from Group 3 (stationed at the Taitung Airport) of the 3rd Service Battalion. The flight went to get water in Hsiukuluan River firstly before arriving at the target area. The fire was found to be fierce, with about 2 hectares of land exposed to it. The crew instantly reported the situation and asked for more helicopter flights. Airborne Service Corp immediately dispatched Type UH-1H (No. NA-507) and Type UH-1H (No. NA-513) from Group 3 (stationed at Hualien) of the 1st Service Battalion. Three flights took turns to quench the fire by taking water back and forth. After watering 33 times with up to 28.4 tons of water, the fire was controlled at about 6 pm. After that, remaining flame was extinguished by firefighters on the ground. They removed all fuel with cutters and rakes. The Airborne Service Corp successfully fulfilled the mission.