A forest fire in Okgye, Gangneung, Gangwon-do last night is spreading rapidly in the direction of the East Sea with strong winds.
According to the forestry authorities, the current forest fire continues to spread in the direction of Mangsang-dong, Bugok-dong, Balhan-dong, and Dongho-dong in the East Sea with the wind blowing toward the seashore.
The speed is observed to be around 7m per second, but a strong wind blows momentarily, encouraging the spread.
The city of Donghae is urging residents in these areas to evacuate and close the windows of apartments and houses.
The area of forest damage is estimated to be 60 hectares (600,000 m2) of forest, which is 84 times the area of a soccer field (0.714 hectares).
The forest authorities are currently using 16 helicopters and 2,000 people to evolve.
The road authorities entered full control of the 14.9km section from the Okgye Interchange to the Donghae Interchange on the Donghae Expressway from 8 am on the 5th.
The Okgye forest fire started around 1:20 am today when a fire from a house in Namyang-ri moved to a nearby mountain and spread to the East Sea around 5:30 am.
A strong wind blew at the site of the forest fire overnight, with a maximum wind speed of 19 m/s.
Dry warning and strong wind advisory are currently in effect for Gangneung and the East Sea.
(Photo = provided by Donghae City, Yonhap News)