◀ anchor ▶
A wildfire in a mountain in Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, is still spreading after 8 hours.
‘Wildfire Stage 2’ has been issued, but now the sea has lost and the wind is blowing strongly, making it difficult to extinguish.
Reporter Yoon Su-han reports.
◀ Report ▶
Yes, the Uljin forest fire has been going on for eight hours.
The wildfire that started in a mountain in Haenggok-ri, Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, around 12 noon today spread in an instant with strong winds exceeding 5 meters per second.
[김시우/울진군민]
“The fire didn’t come from one peak, but it was already spreading to the peak next to it and the fire was burning. Climbing up the ridgeline, the area is wide…”
Soon, white smoke rose from all over the ridge, and a crimson flame flew through the smoke.
Cars driving on the road in front of the raging wildfire also turned and slowed down.
“The fire is getting bigger. What should I do?”
The sudden spread of wildfires also caused property damage.
As two of the vehicle maintenance centers burned down, black smoke erupted from the piled up waste tires, and the design office and warehouse were damaged.
In addition, some buildings at Bogwangsa Temple in Uljin-eup were also confirmed to have been destroyed, and at least 80 hectares of forest were damaged.
It has been confirmed that no one has been injured so far, but dozens of nearby residents, including Haenggok-ri, Eupnam-ri, and Susan-ri, Uljin-gun, were also evacuated.
At around 4:30 pm today, the forestry authorities have issued a ‘second stage of forest fire’ that mobilizes even fire-fighting helicopters from neighboring organizations.
Thirty helicopters and 200 firefighters were deployed, but a strong wind of 20 meters per second momentarily blew at the site, making it difficult to extinguish.
Forest officials believe the fire started at a road construction site near the mountain.
Tonight, the forest authorities are putting all their efforts into building fire lines around residential areas to prevent casualties and extinguish fire.
This is Yoon Su-han from MBC News.
Video editing: Kwon Na-yeon / Video provided by: Korea Forest Service, viewers Kim Si-woo, Kim Dae-kwon, Lee Su-in, Baek Min-seung, Kim Soo-hyun, Jang Young-don, Jang Bo-kyung, Choi Mi-young, Jeon Seong-dal
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