By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter


Firefighters watch a forest fire raging through a hill in Sokcho, Kangwon Province, Wednesday night. The blaze consumed 15 ha of forest and gutted 55 house, leaving 150 people homeless.
/Yonhap

A massive forest fire broke out on Wednesday in Sokcho, Kangwon Province, forcing more than 2,000 residents to evacuate the area.

The fire first started at around 1:20 p.m. on a mountain behind a temple in Choyang-dong and quickly spread 7 to 8 kilometers, consuming 15 hectares of forestland, gutting 55 houses in its path and leaving 150 people homeless.

The cause of the fire is not yet known with investigations underway, police said. But some witnesses said that the fire began after a spark jumped from an electric power substation.

At around 4 p.m., another forest fire broke out on a mountain in the neighboring city of Kosong, which quickly spread to nearby areas.

City officials ordered more than 2,000 residents of 600 households and students in the Sokcho area to evacuate to nearby elementary schools.

More than 2,600 firefighters, police and government officials as well as 28 fire engines and 16 helicopters were deployed to put the fire out but reportedly faced difficulty due the strong winds blowing in the area.

The blaze began to subside from 5 p.m. and no human casualties were reported so far, police said. The fire seemed to be brought under control at around 6:30 p.m. with the help of rain, but the fire raged again under the influence of strong winds.

Residents scrambled to seek shelter in the thick smoke brought on by the fire, but due to road restrictions, major traffic congestion was observed on city roads.

The city reported strong winds blowing at 23 meters per second with a storm warning issued for the mountainous regions on the East Coast.


jysoh@koreatimes.co.kr