Huge Gangwon forest fire kills 1, burns large area

A fire engulfs a building in Nangok-dong in Gangeung, Gangwon, on Tuesday morning. Some 100 buildings burned to the ground due to the massive fire. [YONHAP]

A massive wildfire broke out in Gangneung, Gangwon on Tuesday, killing one.

A body was found at a house in Anhyeon-dong in Gangneung, just a few kilometers from where the fire started, at around 4:38 p.m., according to Gangwon Fire Headquarters. The house was gutted by the blaze.

Authorities suspect the deceased to be a person in their 80s.

Over a thousand people fled the area after the fire broke out as the blaze rapidly spread due to strong winds.

The fire broke out in Nangok-dong in Gangneung at around 8:30 a.m., and about 500 residents and over 700 tourists had to flee.

The blaze spread quickly as gusts of 30 meters per second (67 miles per hour) blew at the site, according to the fire department. Wind of this velocity is capable of breaking a glass window. According to witnesses, signage that caught fire was flying around in the area.

The main fire was extinguished at 4:30 p.m., about eight hours after the blaze broke out.

As of 5 p.m., around 379 hectares (930 acres) of forest were burned, approximately the size of 541 soccer fields. A total of four helicopters and over 2,000 personnel were dispatched to the area to put out the fire.

At least 100 structures, including houses and hotels, were damaged. About 14 people sustained injuries as of press time.

As the blaze continued to spread due to the wind, fire authorities issued a level 3 emergency response alert at 9:43 a.m., only about 20 minutes after they raised the response alert to level 2. This marks the first time the authorities issued the highest response alert for a wildfire this year.

Level 3 is declared when the affected area is estimated to be between 100 and 3,000 hectares and when a complete extinguishment is expected to take more than 24 hours and less than 48 hours.

The Korea Forest Service suspects the fire started after a tree fell across a power line. Residents near the area where the power cable was disrupted by the tree said their power was cut around the time the fire started.

As the fire continued past noon, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered related authorities, including the Korea Forest Service and the National Fire Agency, “to deploy all available resources and personnel to put out the fire as soon as possible.”

Some of the historic tourist spots in Gangwon were also affected by the blaze.

Parts of the Banghaejeong Pavilion, a government-designated tangible cultural heritage near Gyeongpo Lake, were damaged.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, seven plaques at the Gyeongpodae Pavilion, a historic building constructed in 1326, were moved to Ojukheon House & Municipal Museum to protect them from the fire.

About 15 schools in the east coast area either closed or finished classes early on Tuesday.

Strong winds were blamed for the quick spread of the fire.

As of 10 a.m., around 32 hectares of forest were affected, the size of 45 soccer fields. This quickly expanded to 150 hectares as of 11:30 a.m. and to 370 hectares as of 1:30 p.m.

The typhoon-level winds in the morning even grounded helicopters, slowing the response to the blaze. The two helicopters that were deployed in the morning retreated due to gusts.

Strong winds started to blow in Gangwon on Monday night and continued through Tuesday. Over 40 reports related to damages by the typhoon-like wind have been reported to authorities overnight.

Tuesday’s fire in Gangwon was another big wildfire that broke out after dozens of wildfires occurred in the country just a week ago due to strong winds and dry weather.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]