As of the morning of the 23rd, the firefighting rate for the wildfire in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, which had remained in single digits, has risen to 51%. However, the damage area exceeds 4,050 hectares, equivalent to 5,672 soccer fields.
The Korea Forest Service Central Accident Management Headquarters reported that as of 1 p.m. that day, the firefighting rate for the wildfire occurred in areas such as Goesan-ri, Anpyeong-myeon, Uiseong County, is 51%. Firefighting operations are underway over a distance of 33.6 km out of a total fire line of 68 km.
Earlier that day, at 8 a.m., the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters revealed that the firefighting rate for the Uiseong wildfire was 2.8%. It had climbed to the 30% range the previous day but fell back to single digits overnight. Wind near the wildfire site hampered the firefighting efforts, and not being able to deploy firefighting helicopters overnight also had an impact.
As the firefighting has been delayed, the affected area has also expanded. The affected area of the wildfire is 4,050 hectares, which is more than double the 1,802 hectares reported by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters as of 8 a.m. that day.
The forestry authorities have mobilized 52 firefighting helicopters, 3,777 firefighting personnel, and 453 firefighting vehicles to conduct a full-scale firefighting effort.
The forestry authorities issued the highest alert level, Phase 3, regarding the Uiseong wildfire at around 2:10 p.m. the previous day. Phase 3 is declared when the estimated damage area exceeds 100 hectares, the average wind speed exceeds 7 meters per second, and the estimated firefighting time exceeds 24 hours.