Firefighters airlifted to central mountains, hike 5 hours to fight forest fire

A team of firefighters was flown to a landing point in a remote area of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, and faced a further 5-hour hike to reach a fire on Dashuiku Mountain today, May 16.

Chiayi Forest Management Office dispatched the team after a fire was reported at around 4:00 am this morning from the Yushan (Mt Jade) Weather Station.

As it would normally take three days to hike to the remote location, it was decided to dispatch a helicopter to drop water on the fire, and fly a crew to a landing point as close as possible to the location.

However, after being flown to the landing point, the firefighters still faced a further 5-hour hike to reach the site.

The firefighters departed from a car park on Mount Ali and arrived at the landing point at around noon. The area is said to be so remote that there is no mobile phone coverage, and the team must rely on radio communications.

According to reports, the fire is suspected to have started accidentally when a hiker was cooking at the Batongguan Dujuan Camp.

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