Firefighters extinguish wildfire in South Korea’s northeast town

SEOUL, April 24 (BNA) Firefighters put out a massive fire in northeastern Yangyang Province on Saturday that burned an estimated 81 hectares of forest in a rural town, officials said.

The fire started in the roadside forest in the coastal county, about 215 kilometers east of Seoul, at 1:32 p.m. Friday, Yonhap reported.

The local forest and fire authorities sent 1,191 firefighters and 18 helicopters to fight the fire as it spread rapidly due to dry weather and strong winds of up to 17 meters per second.

Officials said they took control of the main front line of flames around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

About 660 firefighters and five helicopters were mobilized Saturday morning and the fire was completely extinguished at 11:30 am.

Officials estimated that the fire burned about 81 hectares of forest, the equivalent of 113 football fields. But they said there were no injuries or property damage.

14 villagers who were evacuated to safety on Friday returned to their homes early the next day.

FKN