Over 1,800 Firefighters Deployed to Extinguish Wildfire in Gangwon Goseong... Mobilization Order No. 2 (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As of midnight on the 2nd, a total of 314 fire trucks and 1,846 firefighting personnel from across the country have been mobilized to extinguish the wildfire that occurred in Toseong-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do.

The National Fire Agency announced that on the afternoon of the 1st, it issued a 'fire mobilization order' to urgently deploy fire trucks and personnel from other cities and provinces to extinguish the wildfire that broke out in Toseong-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do.

Fire mobilization order No. 2 was issued to six cities and provinces including Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Gyeonggi, Chungbuk, and Chungnam, while order No. 1 was issued to the remaining regions. In addition to firefighting personnel in the Gangwon area, the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters and firefighting forces from other cities and provinces were dispatched.

Accordingly, in the Gangwon area, besides the 87 fire trucks and 1,212 firefighters dispatched, 26 fire trucks and 92 firefighters from the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, and 201 fire trucks and 542 firefighters from other cities and provinces headed to the fire site, totaling 314 fire trucks and 1,846 firefighting personnel.

They gathered at the Ocean Two You Resort parking lot in Jukwang-myeon, Goseong-gun, before being deployed to extinguish the wildfire. National Fire Agency Commissioner Jeong Mun-ho also departed for the site at 10:54 p.m. on the 1st to oversee the operation.

Earlier, at around 8:04 p.m. on the 1st, a fire broke out at a house in Dowon-ri, Toseong-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, and spread rapidly to nearby hillsides, driven by strong winds.

About 420 residents in the Dowon-ri and Hakya-ri areas evacuated to nearby Cheonjin Elementary School gymnasium and other locations, and three houses were burned down. Approximately 1,800 soldiers from the Army's 22nd Division, located about 2 km from the wildfire area, are also evacuating. No casualties have been reported so far.

Currently, strong winds of around 6.3 m/s are blowing in the Goseong area, making it difficult for firefighting authorities to control the wildfire. A dry weather advisory is in effect throughout Gangwon-do, and a strong wind advisory has been issued for the plains of Sokcho and Yangyang, as well as the central mountainous areas of Gangwon, including Goseong where the fire broke out.

The Korea Forest Service Central Wildfire Prevention Headquarters raised the national crisis alert for wildfire disasters in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon-do to 'Severe' at 10:20 p.m. on the 1st.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.