Largest area affected in shortest time

[Anchor]

This wildfire in North Gyeongsang Province has been recorded as the worst wildfire, causing the largest damage in the shortest time in the country's history.

The affected area is equivalent to three-quarters of Seoul.

Reporter Choi Min-young has the details.

[Report]

The area swept by the wildfire is left completely covered in black ash.

Both the trees and the ground have been completely burned.

This wildfire in North Gyeongsang Province has left the most significant damage among wildfires that have occurred in South Korea.

In total, over 45,000 hectares across five cities in the region, including Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok, were affected by the wildfire.

This is equivalent to three-quarters of the area of Seoul.

The cause of such extensive damage is primarily attributed to strong winds.

With maximum wind speeds reaching 27 m/s, embers were carried away by the wind.

The speed at which the flames spread was faster than a person running, at 8.2 km/h.

Starting from inland Uiseong, the fire rapidly expanded to Yeongdeok on the east coast, over 50 km away.

Initially confined to Uiseong, the wildfire rapidly spread to four nearby cities and counties over a 12-hour period on the afternoon of the 25th.

The affected area is double the size of the previous record for damage, which was 23,000 hectares during the east coast wildfire of 2000.

It has left the largest affected area in the shortest time in history.

In light of the North Gyeongsang Province wildfire becoming the worst in history, there are calls to reform the wildfire response system.

As the destructive power of wildfires continues to grow in conjunction with climate change, there is a need to establish a system capable of responding to large-scale wildfires.

This is KBS News, Choi Min-young.