Wildfire rages near Olympic venues

A helicopter flies over mountains in northern Samcheok, Gangwon Province, Monday, where fires broke out Sunday./Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong

Fire authorities in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, continued their second-day campaign Monday to extinguish two separate wildfires in the city that started the day before. No injuries have been reported.

Also, the authorities investigated the causes of the fires that burnt down more than 35 hectares of forest.

As of 11:30 a.m. on Monday, the authorities said they had 60 percent of the fire under control. They also said PyeongChang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games almost 60 kilometers from the fires, would remain safe.

The two fire sites are 30 kilometers apart.

The first fire began at 4:14 p.m. Sunday in the northeastern part of Samcheok where a residential building caught fire first before spreading to trees nearby. The fire authorities suspect some of the flames were blown to the forest.

The second fire began at 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the central county and the fire authorities are yet to identify what exactly caused it. The fire threatened a residential area later in the night, forcing 49 residents to evacuate.

The authorities said strong winds in the region prevented them from doing much until Monday morning. A wind advisory was issued for Gangwon Province on Sunday and lasted until Monday morning when the authorities started a comprehensive campaign to extinguish the fires.

As of Monday afternoon, the fires destroyed at least 35 hectares of forest.

The fire authorities dispatched 27 helicopters and more than 50 fire trucks to various fire sites. More than 1,400 firefighters and officials were sent to the fire scenes as well as almost 500 soldiers from nearby military bases.

The helicopters struggled to maintain the water supply, as the region is suffering a drought this winter.

The wildfires reminded local residents of two deadly fires earlier this winter.

Last December, a fire in a building housing a sports facility and sauna in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, killed 29 people and injured 36 more.

In Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, a fire in a hospital building on Jan. 26 killed 48 patients and hospital staff and injured almost 200 others _ the death tolls has risen because many among the injured are elderly.

Authorities said neither building had sprinklers to extinguish fires.