120 households evacuated during wildfire on Seoul's Mount Inwang

Some 120 households in central Seoul were evacuated after a fire broke out on Mount Inwang in Jongno District around noon Sunday. The fire started near the Zaha Museum in Buam-dong, Jongno District, at around 11:53 a.m. and spread in a northward ...

Hikers watch a helicopter put out a fire that broke out on Mount Inwang in Jongno District, central Seoul on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Some 120 households in central Seoul were evacuated after a fire broke out on Mount Inwang in Jongno District around noon Sunday.

The fire started near the Zaha Museum in Buam-dong, Jongno District, at around 11: 53 a.m. and spread in a northward direction due to the wind, according to the Jongno Fire Department.

The main fire was extinguished at 5:08 p.m., about five hours after it began.

Around 90 percent of the blaze was extinguished as of press time, after some 437 firefighters and 15 helicopters had been dispatched to extinguish the fire.

Authorities declared a level 1 fire response alert at 12:29 p.m. which was raised to level 2 at around 12:51 p.m. This was reduced again to level 1 after the main fire was put out.

Dry air advisories were in effect in the area when the fire broke out, with the northeast wind blowing at a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 4 meters per second (9 miles per hour).

As the fire raged, Seoul Metropolitan Government sent out a public safety alert at around 12:40 p.m. to local residents, including those in Seodaemun District and Jongno District, warning people against visiting the mountain and calling on residents and hikers to beware of accidents.

Some 120 households evacuated after Seodaemun District Office sent out a public safety alert an hour later, calling on people living in Gaemi Village and apartments near Hongje-dong in northwestern Seoul to evacuate as the fire spread.

No casualties have been reported as of press time, but the blaze burned around 14 hectares (35 acres) of forest, about the size of 19 soccer fields.

The Korea Forest Service said the authorities will investigate the cause of the fire once it is completely extinguished, adding that if the fire proves to have been manmade, those responsible will be charged with violating the Forest Protection Act.

Another wildfire broke out on nearby Mount Bukak in Samcheong-dong, Jongno District, at around 12:09 p.m.

That fire is suspected of having spread from the fire on Mount Inwang.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday urgently advised the forest and fire authorities “to use all available resources to put out the wildfire” and instructed relevant ministries, including the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry, to cooperate and help put out the fire.

A total of 37 wildfires occurred in Korea as of Sunday afternoon, largely due to the dry weather conditions prevalent across the country.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]