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Main blaze of Uiseong fire contained after 149 hours

Published: 28 Mar. 2025, 17:36

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

A mountain ridge is seen charred after the Uiseong fire swept through the area in North Gyeongsang on March 28. [YONHAP]

The main blaze of the Uiseong fire, which engulfed five localities in North Gyeongsang, was contained on Friday afternoon, according to the Korea Forest Service (KFS).

The wildfire containment came 149 hours after it started last Saturday.

The main blaze of the Uiseong fire, which has devastated the nearby city of Andong and the counties of Uiseong, Cheongsong, Yeongdeok and Yeongyang, was suppressed.

The KFS said it will now work on extinguishing minor and spot fires.

The Uiseong fire reportedly began when an ancestral grave visitor accidentally ignited vegetation setting a whole mountain area on fire last Saturday.

Dry air and strong gusts rapidly carried the flames to adjacent regions, resulting in the largest wildfire damage in recorded Korean history. It had burned 45,157 hectares (111,585 acres) as of Friday morning. The Uiseong fire took 24 lives.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]