Gwangyang Wildfire Struggles Amid Strong Winds... National Fire Mobilization Order Issued

Fire Spreads from House to Hillside
All Available Equipment and Personnel Mobilized
65% Containment Rate... 388 Residents Evacuated

At 3:02 PM on the 21st, a fire broke out at Baegunsan Mountain in Okgok-myeon, Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, and the fire and forestry authorities are conducting firefighting operations. Provided by Jeonnam Fire Headquarters

The wildfire that broke out in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do is proving difficult to contain due to strong winds. Fire and forestry authorities have issued a national fire mobilization order and are working through the night to control the blaze.

According to the Korea Forest Service and Jeonnam Fire Headquarters, at 3:02 PM on January 21, a fire that started in a house (used as a warehouse) in Okgok-myeon, Gwangyang City spread to a nearby hill, and firefighting operations are still ongoing.

The fire authorities declared Level 1 of the fire response at 3:48 PM, 46 minutes after the fire broke out. However, due to strong winds and difficulties in suppression, they raised the fire response to Level 2 at 4:31 PM.

Subsequently, at around 8:00 PM, the fire and forestry authorities issued a national fire mobilization order and switched to nighttime operations. The national fire mobilization order is issued when it is deemed difficult to respond to disasters such as fires with the firefighting resources of a single province or city, or when there is a need to mobilize firefighting resources nationwide to a disaster site.

Currently, the forestry authorities have deployed 352 personnel, including aerial firefighting teams and special wildfire disaster suppression teams, as well as 68 pieces of equipment such as high-performance wildfire suppression vehicles, focusing on nighttime containment efforts. As of 9:00 PM on January 21, the wildfire had affected an area of 42.37 hectares, with a fire line length of 3.8 kilometers. Of this, 2.5 kilometers have been extinguished, resulting in a containment rate of 65%. It is estimated that 15 hectares of forest land have been damaged by the fire.

An official from Jeollanam-do stated, "We are deploying all available personnel and equipment to prevent the fire from spreading further."

Meanwhile, there have been no reported casualties from the wildfire so far. However, it has been reported that 388 residents have evacuated.