Wildfires spread to a village in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 25. Yonhap News

A wildfire that broke out in Anpyeong-myeon, Uiseong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 22 spread to neighboring cities. Hahoe Village, a World Heritage Site, Pungcheon-myeon, Andong, where Byeongsan Seowon is located, as well as Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok have been affected by the wildfires.

The Korea Forest Service has issued a “severe” level of the national crisis alert for wildfires across the country.

The Andong city government sent an emergency text alert at 5:05 p.m. on March 25, saying, “All citizens should evacuate to a safe place,” as the wildfire started in Uiseong rapidly spread to Pungcheon-myeon in Andong.

The wildfire traveled northeast in strong winds, spreading to Gilan-myeon, Andong, the day before, and then to Pungcheon-myeon, which is 10 kilometers from Hahoe Village as the crow flies, by the afternoon on the 25th. The wildfires threatened Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok beyond Andong.

Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok counties in North Gyeongsang Province also issued evacuation orders via emergency text alerts. Juwangsan National Park was also affected by the wildfires. At around 7 p.m. that day, a woman in her 60s who had been evacuated was found burnt to death in Cheongsong-gun. A patrol car belonging to Yeongdeok Police Station was also burned by the spreading wildfires when it went to evacuate residents.

New wildfires broke out in Gochang-gun, North Jeolla Province, and Eonyang-eup, Ulsan, while a wildfire in Okcheon-gun, North Chungcheong Province, which had been extinguished, reignited after 20 hours. The Korea Forest Service raised the national crisis alert for wildfires to “severe” at 4 p.m. for all regions nationwide.

Wildfires spread over a hillside in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 25. Reporter Sung Dong-hoon

The wildfire that started in Uiseong spread to Andong, which made it difficult to extinguish the fire. As of 6 p.m. on the same day, Uiseong's fire extinguishing rate slightly increased to 68 percent, but the area affected by the wildfire expanded to 15,185 hectares. As of 8 p.m. on the 24th, the affected area was 8,490 hectares. An additional 6,000 hectares, 20 times the size of Yeouido, were affected overnight. The wildfires in Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, and Ulju, Ulsan, which were on the verge of being completely extinguished, also showed signs of spreading again that afternoon.

Forest authorities mobilized all available resources, including 77 fire helicopters, 3,836 personnel, and 457 fire trucks, but struggled to extinguish them due to strong winds of up to 10 to 20 meters per second.

According to the Korea Forest Service, as of noon that day, the total area affected by the wildfires was 16,617 hectares. It is the third largest in history following the wildfires in Gangneung, Donghae, Samcheok, and Goseong (23,913 hectares) in Gangwon Province in April 2000 and those in Gangneung, Donghae, and Samcheok in Gangwon Province and Uljin in North Gyeongsang Province (20,523 hectares) in March 2022. In January, the affected area by a large wildfire in Los Angeles, U.S., was 22,810 hectares.

The National Fire Agency issued national firefighting mobilization order No. 3 the day before the wildfire in Uiseong spread to Andong. This is the highest level of firefighting mobilization order issued in the event of a large-scale disaster, and it is the first time that mobilization order No. 3 has been issued in response to a disaster this year. So far, a total of 320 pump trucks and 506 firefighters have been deployed across the country. Various regions nationwide held out a helping hand to the affected areas by the wildfires, including South Jeolla and Gangwon Provinces, which provided eight and 17 helicopters, respectively. Gyeonggi Province provided 500 million won in disaster relief funds and personnel and equipment to the affected areas.

According to the government's tally, there have been 15 casualties so far, including four deaths, due to the wildfires in the Yeongnam region, which first started in Sancheong on the 21st. The wildfires have destroyed 152 buildings, including houses, warehouses, temples, and factories. Some 2,506 households and 5,489 people lost their homes.

The Ministry of Justice‘s correctional headquarters decided to evacuate the inmates from correctional facilities in North Gyeongsang Province, which was affected by the wildfires. The damage to cultural assets was also significant, as Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, a thousand-year-old temple founded in the 1st year of King Sinmun of Silla (year of 681), was burned down and the temple’s Yeonsujeon, which was designated as a national treasure, burned down.

Highways and railroads were also closed partially due to the spread of the wildfires. The Korea Expressway Corporation announced that it will block traffic in both directions from Andong JC to Cheongsong IC on the Seosan-Yeongdeok Expressway from the afternoon. The Korea Railroad Corporation suspended train service between Andong and Gyeongju on the Jungang Line.