As a wildfire that broke out in a wooded hill in Changwon-ri, Macheon-myeon, Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, around 9:14 p.m. on the 21st spread, forest authorities issued response level 1.
The Central Disaster Management Headquarters of the Korea Forest Service issued wildfire response level 1 at 4 a.m. on the 22nd and, as of 7:15 a.m., has continued firefighting operations for 10 hours. Response level 1 for wildfires is issued when the affected area is 10 to 100 ha.
Authorities worked through the night, but it was reported that operations were hampered by strong winds of 5 meters per second at the scene and steep terrain.
The current fire line is about 2 km, and the wildfire-affected area is about 13 ha. The containment rate is 28%.
With sunrise, authorities deployed 10 helicopters to speed up containment. Twenty-five vehicles and 167 personnel were sent to the scene.
Thirty-two nearby residents evacuated to the village hall, and 13 of them returned home. No casualties have been confirmed so far.
Forest authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire as soon as containment is complete.