SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AP) – A wildfire fuelled by strong winds yesterday burned parts of a seaside city on South Korea’s eastern coast, killing at least one person and forcing hundreds to flee before being slowed by rain.
It took eight hours and nearly 3,000 firefighters to put out the blaze that started on a mountain in a central part of Gangneung at around 8.30am and destroyed around 70 homes and other buildings.
More than 550 people evacuated to facilities that included an ice-skating arena and a middle school gym.
A man presumed to be in his 70s was found dead inside a burnt-down home while another resident and two firefighters sustained second-degree burns, officials said.
The Korea Forest Service said firefighters extinguished the blaze as of 4.30pm, helped by rain that began in the afternoon.
Their efforts were initially slowed by powerful winds that made it difficult to fly water-dropping aircraft, but officials managed to deploy helicopters in the afternoon. The Korea Meteorological Administration said winds in the Gangneung area were blowing at 103 kilometres per hour.
The strong winds also forced railroad operators to cancel at least a dozen passenger trains between Gangneung and other eastern coastal cities like Donghae and Samcheok.
The fire covered over 379 hectares. Firefighters during the earlier part of their response focussed on establishing barriers to prevent the flames from spreading to more populated areas of Gangneung.
The Korea Forest Service said that the fire was likely sparked by a tree that fell over a powerline after being snapped by strong winds.
