Wildfires Break Out Across Country...Large Blaze in Miryang Following Hamyang

Miryang Wildfire 51% Contained
Fire and Forestry Authorities Mobilize to Prevent Further Spread

A large wildfire broke out in Miryang following the one in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, prompting fire and forestry authorities to begin suppression efforts.

According to the National Fire Agency on the 24th, a wildfire started at around 4:10 p.m. the previous day in the area of Geomse-ri, Samrangjin-eup, Miryang-si, South Gyeongsang Province. Authorities issued Level 1 Fire Response and a National Fire Mobilization Order and worked through the night to contain the blaze. The fire authorities deployed 273 firefighting personnel and 76 firefighting vehicles to establish defensive lines and prevent the wildfire from spreading during nighttime hours. They additionally dispatched 18 vehicles, including 10 fire pump trucks and 8 water tank trucks, and redirected 16 fire engines from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province that had been mobilized for the Hamyang wildfire to the Miryang site, concentrating all available firefighting resources there.

In particular, they forward-deployed a large-capacity water monitor system from the Ulsan 119 Chemical Rescue Center of the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, which is capable of discharging 45,000 liters of water per minute, and carried out large-scale preemptive water spraying to counter fire lines approaching toward a long-term care hospital and residential areas near the wildfire.

On the morning of the 24th, fire authorities deployed a high-capacity water monitor system to a nursing hospital near the wildfire site in Samryangjin-eup, Miryang-si, Gyeongbuk, and conducted large-scale precautionary watering. National Fire Agency

The large-capacity water monitor system is a special piece of equipment capable of discharging large volumes of water in a short time, and is being used as a key response tool to protect residential areas and vulnerable facilities. Special response units, including the Yeongnam 119 Special Rescue Unit of the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters and the Chungju and Gumi 119 Chemical Rescue Centers, were also deployed to the scene to support ground-based suppression.

An official from the National Fire Agency explained, "By issuing the National Fire Mobilization Order and other measures, we are rapidly concentrating firefighting capabilities at the national level and focusing on preventing the spread of the fire from the initial stage."

From midnight on this day, unified command authority at the wildfire site was transferred to the head of the Korea Forest Service. Under the Act on Prevention of Forest Disasters, when a large, disaster-level wildfire is feared, the head of the Korea Forest Service is authorized to command the site regardless of the size of the fire.

According to the Korea Forest Service, as of 5:00 a.m. on the 24th, the Miryang wildfire had a containment rate of 51%. The total fire line currently measures 5.8 kilometers, of which 2.95 kilometers have been extinguished. For the remaining 2.85 kilometers, 618 suppression personnel and 159 suppression vehicles have been deployed, focusing on preventing the fire from spreading around residential areas. As of the same time, the area expected to be affected by the wildfire, referred to as the wildfire impact zone, is 124 hectares.

As the wildfire spread overnight, 184 people, including residents of three villages and patients at a long-term care hospital, evacuated to Samrangjin Elementary School, the community centers of Dongyang and Baeyang villages, or their homes. Fortunately, no human casualties have been reported.

Amid the recent dry weather, wildfires of various sizes have been breaking out simultaneously across the country. Strong winds are further accelerating the spread once a fire starts, making suppression efforts difficult.

The wildfire that broke out on the 21st in Macheon-myeon, Hamyang-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, continued for a third day before the main blaze was brought under control at around 5:00 p.m. on the 23rd, approximately 44 hours later.

During that time, about 234 hectares, equivalent to the area of 327 soccer fields, were burned, and one plastic greenhouse and one small farm hut were completely destroyed.

A total of 164 residents evacuated due to the wildfire, and there were no human casualties.