Thousands flee as South Korean wildfire destroys homes

Seoul: Thousands of South Korean firefighters and troops were battling a large wildfire on Saturday that tore through an eastern coastal area and temporarily threatened a nuclear power station and a liquified natural gas plant.

The fire—began Friday morning— on a mountain in the seaside town of Uljin has spread across more than 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) to the nearby city of Samcheok, destroying at least 159 homes and 50 buildings and prompted the evacuation of more than 6,200 people. 

There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. 

Officials were investigating the cause of the blaze, which grew rapidly amid strong winds and dry conditions, South Korea's ministry of the interior and safety said. 

Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to the plant and kept the blaze under control before winds drove it northward toward Samcheok.

Moreover, country’s President Moon Jae-in on Friday ordered an all-out efforts to be made to protect the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant from a wildfire that broke out in the eastern coastal county of Uljin, the presidential office said in a statement.

The government issued a natural disaster alert after a wildfire broke out in the county of Uljin on Friday, where the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. operates six nuclear pressurised water reactors.

Output for one of the six reactors was reduced on Friday afternoon due to unstable weather conditions, its website showed.

Of the total, five reactors are currently in operation while one was under maintenance.

The authorities have not said how far the fires are from the site of the plant.