According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the police on the 26th, 22 people have been killed and more than 20 have been seriously injured due to forest fires in North Gyeongsang Province. Most of the deaths were elderly people in their 70s and 80s who had difficulty moving, and they were injured in houses, houses, yards, and roads.
Among the dead was the village head and his wife, who were leading the evacuation of residents, adding to the sadness. The village head and his wife in Samui-ri, Seokbo-myeon, Yeongyang-gun, were getting their brother-in-law's house living nearby and putting him in a car when a fire hit them. A husband in his 60s and a wife in their 50s, Lee Jang and his wife, put their brother-in-law's house in their 60s in the car and headed back to Samui-ri, where the fire was soaring, not in the direction of the shelter.
Accordingly, residents believe that the village head couple tried to save other residents as well. The couple's path was the opposite of the elementary school, which was designated as an evacuation site at that time. However, it is believed that embers hit the road in a hot wind, and the vehicle was engulfed in a fire. An official from the Seokbo-myeon office said, "I think it happened while the residents of Samui-ri were also going back to evacuate," adding, "As the communication started to cut off, I think they were trying to turn the village around themselves."
It is difficult for the elderly to respond immediately even if they receive an evacuation text message from an administrative agency, and it is difficult to quickly evacuate to a safe place on their own even if an evacuation order is issued. As a result, there are voices that the administrative authorities should create a manual to guide the movement by identifying the current status of mountain village residents in isolated areas when training forest fires.
Nam Sung-hyun, former head of the Korea Forest Service, said, "Even if we notify elderly people who are uncomfortable with their movements to go to a safe area, it is often too far to evacuate to a safe area such as a school, a senior citizen center, and a village center. We need detailed measures for the elderly who are uncomfortable with their movements."
It is still an emergency to protect important national cultural properties and attractions as the fire is not easily contained. The Hahoe Village and Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, which are World Heritage sites, were also tense all day, with the flames once approaching near 5km, and the entire village was engulfed in white smoke. Eight equipment, including multiple rocket launchers, were deployed to Hahoe Village on the same day to spray water around village houses and Byeongsanseowon, and about 10 pieces of Byeongsanseowon were also transferred to a museum in Andong. Andong's popular attraction "晩休," which became famous as a filming location for the drama, also avoided fire thanks to the flameproof cloth that was covered before the fire spread.
Cheongsong Juwangsan National Park is still tense. The previous day, Daejeon Temple, a temple in Juwangsan Mountain, was threatened only 1km away from Hwaseon, but fortunately, the fire did not spread to the temple. Daejeonsa Temple is a historic temple built during the Unified Silla Period and has several cultural assets, including Treasure No. 1570 Bogwangjeon Hall. Fire authorities are paying keen attention to attractions such as Juwangam Rock, Hakso University, Yongchu Falls, and Jubong Peak in Juwangsan Mountain, as they are not safe zones.
[Reporter Woosung / Reporter Choi Seungkyun]
