Seoul: Wildfires reignited in the southeastern part of the country overnight, fire authorities said Saturday, and firefighting helicopters were dispatched to extinguish them. An official with Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters noted that reports of smoke in Andong, located approximately 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, began to surface around 10 p.m. Friday night. Forestry officials suspect that the fire reignited around 3 a.m. Saturday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Expressway Corp. blocked off a section of a nearby highway at 5 a.m. Due to the inaccessibility of the mountainous areas by vehicle, helicopters were deployed to manage the fire. Officials noted that fires had also rekindled in other parts of the province, including Euiseong, situated just south of Andong.
Regional authorities mobilized firefighting helicopters, along with a contingent of 230 firefighters and public servants, in addition to 50 soldiers, to contain the fires. In a separate incident, a fire originating near a transmission tower around 9 p.m. Friday in the county of Cheongsong, east of Andong, spread to a nearby mountain. Cheongsong officials issued warnings to residents to prepare for potential power outages.
The Korea Forest Service had previously declared that wildfires in North Gyeongsang were fully controlled by 5 p.m. Friday. These fires had resulted in the death or injury of dozens of individuals and forced thousands to evacuate. Approximately 48,000 hectares of woodland, equivalent to nearly 80 percent of the size of Seoul, have been ravaged, marking the most severe wildfire disaster South Korea has ever faced.