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The Korea Forest Service reported at 6 p.m. on the 8th that it had finished the primary efforts to control a wildfire that took place in Ipcheon-ri, Munmuwangdaebeop-myeon, Gyeongju City, North Gyeongsang Province. This happened roughly 20 hours after the fire started around 9:40 p.m. the day before.

The fire consumed roughly 54 hectares of area. Forest officials quickly sent 45 helicopters, 139 machines, and 523 workers to tackle the flames. Once the primary firefighting efforts were concluded, they began looking into the origin of the wildland fire.

Because of the fire, the National Fire Agency also issued a nationwide firefighting mobilization order. The National Fire Agency issued the national mobilization order at 11:33 a.m. on the same day concerning the wildfire that took place in Ipcheon-ri, Munmuwangdaebeop-myeon, Gyeongju City, North Gyeongsang Province. This came as a reaction to increased worries about the wildfire’s spread, which started around 9:40 p.m. the day before, due to strong winds.

As per the National Fire Agency, the mobilization objectives involved five regional fire departments from Daegu, Daejeon, Ulsan, Gangwon, and South Chungcheong Provinces, consisting of five 119 Special Response Team units and 25 staff members. Ulsan, Daegu, and Busan are supplying disaster recovery vehicles. A representative from the National Fire Agency mentioned, “We have activated the situation response team and sent situation managers to the location.”

At 3:30 p.m. on the same day, another mobilization directive was issued, sending five specialized wildfire suppression vehicles, 20 fire pump trucks, and 10 water tankers from five nearby cities and provinces, such as Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province.

Although challenges in controlling the fire were encountered because of strong winds and power transmission towers, the suppression rate had fallen to 23% by midday on the same day. Nevertheless, forest officials increased the use of 45 helicopters in an effort to boost the suppression rate.

The city of Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, where the wildfire took place, had simultaneous alerts for strong winds and dry conditions from the 7th to the 8th.

A fire in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju City, which took place around the same time, had its primary flames contained by about 9:52 a.m. on the same day and is now being dealt with for remaining smoldering areas.

A representative from the Korea Forest Service mentioned, “We encountered challenges in managing the fire because of unexpected strong winds surpassing 21 meters per second and the existence of power lines.”