The wildfire that occurred on the 22nd in Uljugun, Ulsan, has continued for two days, with the affected area increasing. It was 35 hectares (㏊) during the day the previous day but has expanded to 85 hectares, more than double overnight.
According to the forest authorities on the 23rd, as of 6 a.m. that day, the fire suppression rate of the wildfire that started in Unhwa-ri, Onyang-eup, Uljugun, was at 69%.
The wildfire, which started around 12:12 p.m. on the 22nd, had shown a suppression rate of 70% by 7 p.m. that day. However, the fire spread overnight, causing the suppression rate to drop slightly.
The area affected by the wildfire, where damage is expected, is 85 hectares. The total fireline is 11.5 kilometers (km), of which 8 km has been extinguished. The remaining 3.5 km is still being suppressed.
The forest authorities have dispatched 1,835 personnel, including government officials, professional firefighting teams, firefighters, police, military, and wildfire observers, along with 35 firefighting vehicles, to combat the blaze for the second day. Starting from the sunrise at 6:24 a.m., 11 helicopters have also been deployed.
The authorities plan to continue firefighting operations with the aim of suppressing the main fire by the morning.
As of now, no casualties due to the wildfire have been reported. However, 80 residents from two villages, Yangdal and Donteo, have evacuated to the Onyang Town Office and Eumdal Village Hall due to the fire.
The police are enforcing a complete shutdown of traffic in both directions on the Donghae Expressway between the Jangan Interchange (IC) and Cheongnyang IC, which are adjacent to the fire scene.
The Korea Forest Service declared the second stage of the wildfire response around 5:10 p.m. the previous day, approximately five hours after the fire started. As a result, nine helicopters and about 700 personnel were mobilized for firefighting operations. The second stage is declared when the expected damage area is between 50 and 100 hectares.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety declared a state of disaster in Ulsan City, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam at 6 p.m. on the 22nd to mobilize a total government response to the simultaneous wildfires occurring nationwide.