Wildfire destroys homes, prompts thousands to evacuate in eastern county

 A fast-spreading wildfire in an eastern coastal county on Friday destroyed a dozen homes, forced thousands to evacuate and threatened a nuclear power plant.

The blaze started on a road near a mountain in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 11:17 a.m. and spread to the vicinity of the mountain peak, according to the Korea Forest Service (KFS).

As of 4 p.m., the fire burned about 500 hectares and destroyed 12 homes while around 3,900 residents in nine villages were evacuated. No casualties were reported.

This photo, provided by the Korea Forest Service, shows a wildfire that broke out in the eastern coastal county of Uljin on March 4, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the plant’s operator, had lowered the generation capacity of five reactors in operation by 50 percent.

The KFS and the National Fire Agency issued an emergency alert and dispatched a total of 28 helicopters and 417 firefighters to extinguish the wildfire.

They were having difficulties containing the fire due to strong wind with a speed of over 25 meters per second and dry weather, officials said.

President Moon Jae-in instructed officials to make efforts to swiftly put out the wildfire, prevent casualties and protect the nuclear plant.

Early voting for next week’s presidential election was suspended at one of the polling stations in Uljin due to a power outage caused by the fire.