The number of casualties from wildfires occurring across the country has risen to 70.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said that as of 6 a.m. on the 29th, 29 people had died due to the wildfires. There were also 10 seriously injured and 31 with minor injuries.
In North Gyeongsang Province, 25 people died and 29 were seriously or lightly injured due to wildfires. In South Gyeongsang Province's Sancheong and Hadong, the wildfires resulted in 4 deaths and 14 casualties, including 5 seriously injured and 5 with minor injuries. In Ulsan's Ulju, 2 people were lightly injured, bringing the total number of casualties to 70.
In the case of the North Gyeongsang Province wildfire, it occurred around 5 p.m. the previous day, and the main fire was extinguished after 149 hours (6 days and 5 hours). However, on the morning of the same day, flare-ups occurred in Andong and Uiseong, prompting the Korea Forest Service to deploy helicopters for firefighting efforts. The flare-up in Andong is currently under control.
As of 7 a.m. on the 21st, the rate of extinguishing the wildfire that broke out in Sancheong is 96%. The Korea Forest Service is accelerating its efforts to control the main fire in the Jirisan area. The affected area from this wildfire is approximately 48,238 hectares, which is 166 times the size of Yeouido, Seoul (290 hectares).
By region, Uiseong had the largest affected area at 12,821 hectares. Andong had 9,896 hectares, Cheongsong had 9,320 hectares, Yeongdeok had 8,050 hectares, Yeongyang had 5,070 hectares, and Sancheong and Hadong combined had 1,858 hectares of forest burned. A total of 4,801 locations, including 2,996 dwellings and 1,142 agricultural facilities, have been provisionally identified as having suffered from wildfire damage.
The number of evacuees who have fled due to the wildfires but have not yet returned home is 4,193 households and 6,885 people.