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| A fire broke out late Friday near a mountain in Goseong, Gangwon Province, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate and local authorities to call for help from nearby cities. Yonhap |
Authorities said Saturday that fire fighters have put out most of the blaze on a mountain in Goseong, which forced hundreds of people to evacuate and local authorities to call for help from nearby cities.
The fire began at a house in the county located some 160 kilometers northeast of Seoul late Friday, and later spread to a nearby forest on gusts of wind.
No casualties were reported from the fire, but the fire fighters were frustrated by strong winds. The fire is estimated to have destroyed 85 hectares of forest.
Authorities said the fire is expected to be fully extinguished by noon.
Authorities issued a level-3 warning to call support from other areas, and dispatched 38 helicopters to the site earlier in the morning.
More than 300 residents have been evacuated due to the fire, along with some 1,800 military officials stationed in the region.
Goseong was the site of a catastrophic forest fire about a year earlier that also spread on strong gusts. The 2019 inferno destroyed more than 1,300 buildings, including 400 homes, while killing one person. (Yonhap)
