On Saturday, firefighters battled a major wildfire in South Korea's eastern coastal areas, causing over 6,000 residents to flee their homes. According to forest and firefighting authorities, the fire had burnt an estimated 21,179 acres of woods in Uljin, roughly 330 kilometres southeast of Seoul, and its neighbouring city of Samcheok as of Saturday afternoon. According to media sources, this is more than double the amount of forest that was reported to be affected the day before.

According to the Korea Forest Service, the fire started on a road near a mountain in Uljin on Friday morning and expanded north to Samcheok in the afternoon, fuelled by high winds and dry conditions (KFS). At least 153 dwellings and 53 other structures were destroyed, but no one was wounded.

The fire threatened a nuclear power plant, the nation's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production complex, and electricity transmission lines in the area, but firefighters put it out before it could reach the facilities, as according officials. Following the change in the wind direction, the fire began to expand south again toward villages in Uljin, forcing several villagers to flee to safety.

According to the Korea Forest Service, the fire started on a road near a mountain in Uljin on Friday morning and expanded north to Samcheok in the afternoon, fuelled by high winds and dry weather (KFS). At least 153 homes and 53 other structures were destroyed, but no one was wounded. The fire threatened a nuclear power plant, the nation's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production complex, and power transmission lines in the area, but firefighters put it out before it could reach the facilities, as according officials. Following the change in the wind direction, the fire began to expand south again toward villages in Uljin, forcing several villagers to flee to safety.

Wildfires also broke out in two other areas of Gangwon Province — Gangneung and Yeongwol– during the day, disrupting traffic on a highway and a railway along the coast. President Moon Jae-in called for all-out efforts to prevent any casualties and protect key industrial facilities from fires. “It’s fortunate that there were no casualties overnight and core facilities such as Samcheok liquefied natural gas complex and Hanul nuclear power plant remain safe,” Moon was quoted by presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee as saying after being briefed on the situations.

“Please make every effort to prevent casualties and protect core facilities from wildfires and make all-out efforts to extinguish them as early as possible.”

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