Wildfire forces thousands of South Koreans to evacuate

Deadly wildfires raced through an eastern region of South Korea this weekend, destroying at least 159 homes and forcing the evacuation of 6,200 people.

The fires sparked near the coastal town of Uljin on Friday morning and later spread nearly 15,000 acres to the city of Samcheok, The Associated Press reported.

As of Saturday afternoon, around 7,000 firefighters, 65 helicopters and 513 vehicles were battling the blaze, according to the news wire.

South Korea President Moon Jae-in issued a natural disaster alert and raised another alarm after the fire spread near the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant, Reuters reported.

Hundreds of firefighters helped contain the blaze near the plant before it spread north toward Samcheok, the AP noted.

Footage shared by Reuters on Twitter shows the conflagration burning up forested hills and land near the power plant and a populated urban area.

Heavy smoke can also be seen billowing for miles through the coastal region in the video.

South Korea battled a similar wildfire in 2019 near Seoul, which killed two and displaced hundreds, according to an AP report.