Hadong Okjong-myeon Wildfire 87% Contained ... All-Out Overnight Effort Continues

Smoke is rising from a hill near Hoesan-ri, Okjong-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam. Provided by Korea Forest Service

As of 7:00 p.m. on the 7th, a wildfire that broke out around 12:05 p.m. in a mountain near Hoesan-ri, Okjong-myeon, Hadong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, has been extinguished by 87%.

To prevent the spread of the fire, the Korea Forest Service and South Gyeongsang Province mobilized all available resources for firefighting. After sunset, they deployed 36 firefighting helicopters, 72 pieces of firefighting equipment, and 753 personnel to carry out nighttime firefighting operations.

The wildfire-affected area is about 65 hectares, and the total fire line is 4.6 kilometers, of which 4 kilometers have been extinguished and 0.6 kilometers remain.

The Korea Forest Service issued wildfire response level 1 at around 1:45 p.m. and then raised the response to level 2 at around 3:30 p.m. on the same day.

Currently, 506 residents from seven villages in Okjong-myeon have been evacuated to various locations including the Okjong Multipurpose Ecological Complex Center, Okjong High School, and Daon Daycare Center.

A man in his 70s, suspected of starting the fire while using a brush cutter, suffered second-degree burns on both hands and was taken to the hospital.

The Korea Forest Service believes that with winds at the site reaching up to 8 meters per second and dry conditions, there is a high possibility of the fire spreading further. They plan to focus on preventing the spread of the fire while also taking precautions to avoid safety accidents.