South Korea's wildfires put firefighters on high alert at UNESCO village

Record ID: 1986278

  • Title: South Korea's wildfires put firefighters on high alert at UNESCO village
  • Date: 27th March 2025
  • Summary: ANDONG, SOUTH KOREA (MARCH 27, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE TO HAHOE VILLAGE COVERED WITH SMOKE ENTRANCE OF HAHOE VILLAGE SCULPTURE OF TRADITIONAL KOREAN MASK FIREFIGHTERS GATHERING AT ENTRANCE TO HAHOE VILLAGE FIREFIGHTERS STANDING IN FRONT OF BOARD SHOWING FIRE PREVENTION MEASURES ON VILLAGE VARIOUS OF MAP SHOWING HAHOE VILLAGE FIREFIGHTER’S VEHI
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Hahoe South Korea UNESCO fire firefighter prevent village wildfire
  • Location: ANDONG, SOUTH KOREA
  • City: ANDONG, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents,Wildfires/Forest Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA001206827032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: South Korea’s firefighters were on high alert at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hahoe village in Andong on Thursday (March 27) as wildfires continued to threaten large swathes of the country.
    Twenty firefighting vehicles and 118 firefighters were deployed at each part of the village, spraying water on traditional wooden and straw-thatched houses to protect them from potentially catching alight, chief of prevention and safety at Yecheon Fire Station, Kim Do-yeon, said.
    The picturesque folk village is around 600 years old.
    Authorities have called the blazes the country's worst natural fire disaster, with at least 27 people killed.
    More than 33,000 hectares (81,500 acres) have been charred or were still burning in the largest of the fires that began in the central Uiseong county, making it the biggest single forest fire in South Korea's history.
    The previous record was 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) in a March 2000 fire.
    (Production: Daewoung Kim, Minwoo Park)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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