As a result of the wildfire, 33 casualties have been reported, and 18,401 residents from nearby villages have been evacuated. In the main wildfire areas, efforts to extinguish the main fires are still ongoing with full force. However, the strong winds are making it difficult to increase the containment rate.
According to the Korea Forest Service Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters as of 5 a.m. on the 27th, casualties from wildfires in Uiseong and Andong in Gyeongbuk, Sancheong and Hadong in Gyeongnam, and Ulju have reached 21 deaths and 12 injuries.
Firefighting teams are conducting nighttime wildfire suppression activities at the wildfire site in Sancheong, Gyeongnam. Provided by the Korea Forest Service
Among the deceased, 14 people died in Yeongdeok (8) and Yeongyang (6), where the Uiseong and Anseong wildfires spread; 4 in Sancheong and Hadong; and 3 in Andong. The number of injured by region is 8 in Sancheong and Hadong, 2 in Ulju, and 1 in Yeongyang.
Many residents in the wildfire-affected areas have also moved to shelters to escape the fires. As of 5 a.m. on the same day, the number of evacuees by region is highest in Cheongsong with 8,003 people, followed by Andong with 4,052, Yeongyang with 1,925, Sancheong and Hadong with 1,784, Uiseong with 1,203, Yeongdeok with 1,055, and Ulju with 379.
Despite the increasing wildfire damage, the containment rate is not improving easily. As of the same time (5 a.m.), the containment rates by region are highest in Cheongsong and Sancheong-Hadong at 77%, followed by Ulju at 76%, Uiseong at 54%, Andong at 52%, Yeongyang at 18%, and Yeongdeok at 10%, showing relatively low levels.
The forestry authorities have deployed 109 helicopters, 8,360 firefighting personnel, and 1,216 firefighting vehicles and equipment to the wildfire sites at sunrise on the 27th, putting all efforts into extinguishing the main fires. The core firefighting resource, helicopters, are concentrated with 41 units in Uiseong, and distributed with 29 in Sancheong-Hadong, 16 in Andong, 13 in Ulju, 6 in Yeongyang, and 4 in Cheongsong.
Although firefighting resources such as helicopters are being mobilized to fight the fires with all their might, the dry weather and strong winds are hampering efforts to extinguish the main fires. The total fire line length across all wildfire sites is 725.5 km, of which the forestry authorities have contained 349.26 km of flames. The remaining fire line is estimated to be 376.24 km.
The fire line status by region is as follows: ▲ Uiseong total fire line 271 km, remaining 125 km (completed 146 km) ▲ Andong total fire line 82.5 km, remaining 40.2 km (completed 42.3 km) ▲ Cheongsong total fire line 88 km, remaining 20.24 km (completed 67.76 km) ▲ Yeongyang total fire line 96 km, remaining 79 km (completed 17 km) ▲ Yeongdeok total fire line 101 km, remaining 91 km (completed 10 km) ▲ Sancheong total fire line 46 km, remaining 10 km (completed 36 km) ▲ Hadong total fire line 21 km, remaining 6 km (completed 15 km) ▲ Ulju total fire line 20 km, remaining 4.8 km (completed 15.2 km).
The Korea Forest Service Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters stated, “Since light rain is forecast nationwide on the 27th, which is expected to weaken the wildfire spread, we will mobilize all available firefighting resources to focus on extinguishing the main fires.”
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