Emergency response order issued again as wildfire reignites in Daegu

The National Fire Agency (NFA) on Wednesday issued an order to mobilize available personnel and equipment nationwide to combat a fire that reignited in the southeastern city of Daegu.

The NFA issued the order shortly after the fire reignited on Mount Hamji in the city some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul in the afternoon.

The fire, which began Monday afternoon, was extinguished nearly 23 hours later on Tuesday afternoon after scorching 260 hectares of land and forcing more than 2,000 people to evacuate.

That evening, however, the fire began reigniting on parts of the mountain and, by Wednesday evening, had spread close to nearby residential areas, fanned by strong winds.

The NFA had issued a similar mobilization order Monday when the fire first broke out, before lifting it the following day after the main body of the fire was brought under control.

As of 5:50 p.m., a fire line of about 2.1 kilometers had formed in the area, approaching a densely populated residential district with apartment buildings, according to the Korea Forest Service (KFS).

An emergency alert was also issued, advising residents near Mount Hamji to evacuate.

Around 190 personnel and 41 helicopters have currently been deployed to the scene to extinguish the fires.

The scale of the fire has not been determined, but significant plumes of smoke were reportedly seen at the site.