Evacuation Orders Expanded to Five More Villages:
Singi, Junggwang, Naegwang, Oegwang, and Gwiji
A wildfire that broke out in Unhwa-ri, Onyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, spread again on the 23rd, prompting additional evacuation orders for 791 residents in five nearby villages. The villages under evacuation orders are Singi, Junggwang, Naegwang, Oegwang, and Gwiji.
Including the 76 residents of Yangdal village, where evacuation orders were previously issued, a total of 867 residents from six villages have evacuated. The wildfire, which started around 12:12 PM the previous day in the hills of Unhwa-ri, Onyang-eup, Ulju-gun, has been ongoing for 27 hours.
The forestry authorities have issued the highest response level, wildfire stage 3, deploying 12 helicopters, 70 firefighting vehicles, and 2,331 personnel to focus all efforts on extinguishing the main fire.
The wildfire-affected area expected to be damaged is 180 hectares. As of 3 PM, the containment rate is 70%.
Out of a total fire line of 13.4 km, 4.02 km is currently being extinguished. The remaining 9.02 km has been contained. Vehicle traffic on the Busan-Ulsan Expressway section from Jangan IC to Cheongnyang IC, which had been restricted due to proximity to the wildfire site, resumed from 9 AM that day.
Forestry authorities and police preliminarily estimate that the fire started at a farm shack where welding work was being conducted, and plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire once extinguishing is complete.
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