Gyeongju Munmu Daewang-myeon Wildfire Continues for Second Day... Fire Authorities: "National Firefighting Mobilization Order Issued" (Comprehensive)

Strong Winds of 9.5 Meters per Second at the Scene
Containment Rate Falls to 23% Despite Dozens of Helicopters Deployed

As the wildfire that broke out in the Ipcheon-ri area of Munmu Daewang-myeon, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk continued to spread for a second day, the national firefighting mobilization order was issued on the 8th. The forestry authorities deployed dozens of firefighting helicopters, but the containment rate has declined due to weather conditions.

At 11:33 a.m. that day, the fire authorities issued a national firefighting mobilization order regarding the wildfire containment situation in Ipcheon-ri, 15 hours and 30 minutes after the wildfire started. The authorities will additionally deploy 5 units of equipment and 25 personnel from the 119 Special Response Teams of five cities and provinces, including Daegu, Daejeon, Ulsan, Gangwon, and South Chungcheong Province. Disaster recovery vehicles will also be dispatched from three locations: Ulsan, Daegu, and Busan. In addition, the authorities will activate the situation response team and dispatch a situation manager to the scene.

On the 8th, firefighters in Ipcheon-ri, Munmu Daewang-myeon, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, were extinguishing a wildfire that had continued since the previous day. Yonhap News

At the wildfire site, where the current temperature is minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, strong winds of about 9.5 meters per second are blowing from the west-northwest. At 5:30 a.m. that day, the authorities issued Wildfire Response Level 1 and deployed 40 firefighting helicopters, 104 firefighting vehicles, and 298 firefighting personnel. However, the containment rate, which had once reached 60%, had plunged to 23% as of 12:00 p.m. The area affected by the wildfire in the Ipcheon-ri area is currently 42 hectares. The fire line is 3.54 kilometers long, of which only a 0.8-kilometer section has been fully contained.

Earlier, at around 9:40 p.m. on the 7th, when a wildfire broke out in the Ipcheon-ri area, the authorities carried out overnight firefighting operations. In the process, 106 nearby residents evacuated to 10 locations, including village halls. The number of people remaining at each evacuation shelter is currently confirmed to be around 30.