A wildfire in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province has largely been extinguished 36 hours after the blaze first started.

The Korea Forest Service(KFS) reported that the large flames had been put out as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday. The KFS had earlier raised the alert level and dispatched some 17-hundred personnel and 40 helicopters to the scene, the first time in a decade that 40 choppers were mobilized for a single wildfire.

Firefighters initially struggled due to strong winds, but suppression efforts accelerated as it subsided from noon on Thursday.

Authorities said the fire affected an area measuring approximately 400 hectares, issuing assurances of a more exact figure following an investigation.

Officials believe a reflective film often used at fruit farms could have flown into a utility pole and combusted, but they are still in the possess of determining the cause.