Seoul, April. The office of South Korean President Yoon Sok Yul said today, Sunday, that the president has instructed the relevant authorities to make every effort to extinguish and prevent spring fires.
Yoon issued the letter after reports of wildfires on Mount Inwang, near the former site of South Korea’s presidential office, and a mountain in Hongseong, 114 kilometers south of Seoul.
As of 2:30 PM, about 580 officials and nine helicopters had been mobilized to put out the fire that broke out just before noon on Mount Inwang. Yonhap reported that there were no reports of deaths or injuries due to it.
Authorities have banned entry to the mountain, with residents in nearby areas being evacuated. 120 families have already been evacuated.
The bushfires destroyed about 0.23 square kilometers of land, the equivalent of an area of 32 football fields.
Presidential spokesman Lee Do-won said in a written statement that Yoon ordered the National Fire Agency and the National Forest Service to use all possible resources to put out the fires, and called on the interior and defense ministries to support the efforts.
WWA