Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |

The Forest Service’s Central Forest Fire Prevention Headquarters has issued a ‘forest fire stage 2’ at 10:00 am

as the forest fire that occurred in Nangok-dong 4, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, spread at 8:30 am on the

April 11, 2023.

Nam Seong-hyeon, head of the Korea Forest Service said, “Considering the scale of the forest fire and the

situation where winds of up to 30 m per second are blowing at the site, we have issued a ‘forest fire stage 2’

to prevent the spread at an early stage.” 

“We will respond quickly by mobilizing 100% of firefighters, 100% of forest fire extinguishing helicopters and

drones of neighboring institutions, and 30% of available equipment from neighboring institutions. “He added.

The residents in Gangneung, Gangwon, were told to evacuate due to the fire engulf in the forest spreading

aggressively because of typhoon level wind.  

On Tuesday, the Gangneung city government sent out an alert to nearby residents at 9:35 a.m. after a fire broke out at a nearby mountain in Nangok-dong an hour earlier.  
 
Students from Gyeongpodae Elementary School were evacuated in a bus.  

The fire department and the forest agency raised the emergency to level 3, the highest of a total of three.

The forest authorities are working hard to control the situation with 6 forest fire fighting helicopters (6 forest

service including super-large helicopters), 43 forest fire extinguishing equipment (3 command cars, 11 fire

trucks, 29 fire trucks), 333 forest firefighting crews (19 aerial firefighting teams, 39 special forest fire disaster

fighting teams)., 18 forest fire prevention teams, 158 forest officials, 95 firefighters, and others 4).

Two private houses were already confirmed to be destroyed by the wildfire, and no casualties have occurred. 

The strong wind is constantly blowing at the site, with average wind speed of 15 m per second, instantaneous wind speed of 30 m per second. 

As reported by the Korea Meteorological Administration on April 10, the strong wind with an instantaneous

speed of 20 m/s or 25 m/s or more (in mountainous areas), will blow from dawn to morning in the metro-

politan area and the east coast of Chungcheong, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongsang, and from the afternoon on the west coast of Jeollanam-do areas.”

In Yeongdong, Gangwon, with the addition of topographical effects, the stronger instantaneous wind carrying speed of 25 m/s,30 m/s or more in mountainous areas is expected to blow.”