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| ▲ A wildfire rages in the southern county of Hamyang in this undated photo provided by the Korea Forest Service. (Yonhap) (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) |
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| ▲ Prime Minister Kim Min-seok (R, seated) checks fire containment efforts at the Korea Forest Service's control center in the southern county of Hamyang on Feb. 23, 2026, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
(2nd LD) wildfire-southern county
(2nd LD) Main blaze in wildfire in southern Hamyang County contained
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HAMYANG, South Korea, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- The main blaze in a wildfire in the southern county of Hamyang was completely contained Monday, about 44 hours after it broke out over the weekend.
The fire had burned 234 hectares since it broke out around 9 p.m. Saturday, with the containment rate reaching 100 percent as of 5 p.m. Monday, according to the Korea Forest Service.
A total of 164 residents evacuated, but no casualties were reported.
The government mobilized some 115 helicopters, 250 pieces of equipment and 1,600 personnel to extinguish the wildfire.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok visited the county in the early hours of Monday and checked authorities' firefighting efforts while encouraging on-site personnel, according to his office.
He stressed the full mobilization of available resources in an all-out containment effort and later visited local residents at an evacuation center set up at an indoor gym to promise them relief and support.
The forest service earlier ordered a Level 2 wildfire response at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, an order given when the damage is expected to exceed 100 hectares, the average wind speed tops 11 meters per second or containing the fire could take more than 48 hours.
The National Fire Agency also issued a national firefighting mobilization order at 11:14 p.m. the same day, a directive for when the scale of the fire is deemed to surpass the firefighting capacity of the local government.
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