Forest fire breaks out in southeastern city of S. Korea

Seoul, Feb 16 (IANS) A forest fire broke out in the southeastern coastal city of South Korea, and about 180 households have been evacuated, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.The wildfire first occurred on a mountain in Yeongdeok, some 350 km southeast of the capital Seoul, early Tuesday and was extinguished by Tuesday afternoon, Xinhua reported citing Yonhap news agency. The fire reignited overnight and spread into nearby residential areas, leading to the evacuation of households. No casualty has been reported yet.The Korea Forest Service raised the four-notch wildfire warning from Level 2 to Level 3 on Wednesday afternoon.The second-highest warning is issued when a forest fire is expected to consume more than 100 hectares of land amid an average wind velocity of over seven meters per second.At least 36 firefighting helicopters and around 600 personnel were sent to the scene, but the fire was hard to put out due to the strong wind.
--IANS int/sks/bg

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