Wildfire in Hadong

[Anchor]

Here's the latest news on the wildfire.

Today (4.7) in Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, a wildfire broke out.

The Korea Forest Service has issued a level 2 wildfire alert and is working to extinguish the fire, while over 300 nearby residents have evacuated.

Let's connect to the scene.

Reporter Moon Geu-rin! You're near the area where the wildfire occurred not long ago, right?

The strong winds are concerning.

[Report]

Yes, I am currently near Okjong Middle School in Okjong-myeon, Hadong-gun, where the integrated command center has been set up.

It is about 4 km away from where the fire started.

As it gets darker, efforts are underway to prepare plans for nighttime firefighting operations.

The fire started around 12:05 PM today (4.7) in a hillside in Hoesin-ri, Okjong-myeon, Hadong-gun.

It’s about 3 km away from the site of the fire that spread from the Sancheong wildfire at the end of last month.

The Korea Forest Service issued a Level 1 wildfire alert at 1:45 PM and upgraded it to Level 2 at 3:30 PM.

Immediately after the fire broke out, the Korea Forest Service deployed 36 firefighting helicopters and over 400 personnel to fight the fire.

Currently, about 750 ground firefighting personnel and over 70 pieces of equipment are continuing nighttime firefighting operations.

As of 7 PM, the fire has been 87% contained.

The affected area is 65 hectares, with the total length of the fire being 4.6 km, and 600 meters of fire remains.

There are currently strong winds blowing at a maximum speed of 8 m/s in this area.

After the fire broke out, Hadong-gun evacuated about 320 residents from seven nearby villages, including Hoesin Village and Yangji Village, to Okcheon Hall and Okjong High School.

So far, one resident has suffered second-degree burns on both hands from the fire.

The Forest Service suspects that the resident was working with a brush cutter when the fire broke out.

This has been KBS News' Moon Geu-rin reporting from the site of the wildfire in Hadong, Gyeongnam.