Wildfires erupt in multiple regions Sunday, Korea Forest Service mounts all out emergency response

Firefighters are seen during an operation to extinguish a wildfire that broke out in a mountain in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang on Jan. 24. [KOREA FOREST SERVICE]

 
Wildfires erupted in multiple regions across Korea on Sunday upon dry weather spells combined with gusty winds, leading the Korea Forest Service to engage in an all-out emergency response.
 
As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, six wildfires had broken out nationwide in just one day, including in Gumi and Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang, Haman in South Gyeongsang, and Goesan in North Chungcheong, according to the Central Disaster Response Headquarters of the Korea Forest Service.
 
 
“Simultaneous wildfires are breaking out due to the dry weather and strong winds,” said Kim In-ho, Minister of the Korea Forest Service. “We are mobilizing all available resources for a full-scale response.”
 
One fire began at 1:37 p.m. in a forested area of Yongjeong-ri in Chilwon-eup, Haman County, South Gyeongsang. Authorities deployed six helicopters, 13 fire engines and 47 personnel, but efforts were hampered by wind speeds averaging 3.4 meters per second (11 feet per second)
 
Another fire broke out four minutes earlier, at 1:33 p.m., in Oechil-ri, Sannae-myeon, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. The forest service dispatched seven helicopters, 24 vehicles and 36 responders, but wind speeds of 6.2 meters per second made containment difficult.
 
Authorities aim to fully extinguish the fires before sunset and plan to commit additional resources to meet that goal.
 

Smoke is seen billowing up from a forested area of Yongjeong-ri in Chilwon-eup, Haman County, South Gyeongsang, on Jan. 25. [KOREA FOREST SERVICE]

 
Fires were also reported earlier in the day in a forested area of Cheongcheon-myeon, Goesan County at 1:27 p.m., and in Gupyong-dong, Gumi, at 12:39 p.m. The Gumi fire is believed to have started at a beekeeping site. Authorities dispatched 12 helicopters, 51 vehicles and 140 personnel for rapid containment.
 
An earlier fire in a forested area of Sangdong-myeon, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, broke out at 10:18 a.m. and was brought under control by 11:30 a.m., about an hour and 12 minutes later.
 
The forest service has deployed investigation teams to the affected sites to determine the causes of the fires and assess the scope of damage and losses.
 
The Central Disaster Response Headquarters has been active since Tuesday to prevent large-scale wildfires. A national wildfire response situation room is coordinating with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of National Defense, the National Fire Agency and the National Police Agency.
 

Smoke is seen in billowing up from an area in Oechil-ri, Sannae-myeon, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang on Jan. 25. [KOREA FOREST SERVICE]

 
On Jan. 13, the national wildfire crisis alert level was raised from “attention” to “caution.” The spring wildfire prevention season, originally scheduled to begin on Feb. 1, was moved up to Tuesday.
 
“A single agency such as the forest service or a local government cannot respond to wildfires alone,” said a Korea Forest Service official. “We are strengthening joint response systems with other ministries and local governments to protect lives and property from wildfire threats.”
 
Under Article 53 of the Forest Protection Act, anyone found responsible for starting a wildfire, even due to negligence, may face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won ($20,700).

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN JIN-HO [[email protected]]