Residents near South Korea's Hahoe Folk Village advised to evacuate as wildfires approach

Andong, March 26 (IANS) Tensions are rising around Hahoe Folk Village in the southeastern South Korea's Andong on Wednesday, as wildfires that started in nearby Uiseong County last week are approaching the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

The city sent out emergency text alerts to residents near Hahoe Village and Byeongsan Seowon at around 8.20 p.m. advising them to take shelter as the wildfires approached the area.

"Our drone detected temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius at a location four kilometres from Byeongsan Seowon, so we advised residents to evacuate," an official said.

Authorities said the wildfire spread to a village within three kilometers of Byeongsan Seowon, a Confucian academy listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Firefighters are continuing to spray water on the buildings to prevent fire, they said.

Hahoe, about 190 km southeast of Seoul, is one of the most famous and popular folk villages in South Korea and was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 2010. It preserves houses and traditions from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

The Justice Ministry also said it began to transfer around 800 inmates from a prison in Andong to other facilities to escape the flames.

The forest fire broke out in Uiseong's Ansa district, about 7 km away from Hahoe, and smoke has flowed into the village along the direction of the wind. The village's 200 or so residents have been evacuated to a safe place since early Wednesday morning, and the village itself is currently deserted, Yonhap news agency reported.

Smoke began to slowly flow into the village at around 10 a.m., and the concentration thickened after noon, according to firefighters. The village was covered with thick gray smoke, and the smell was so pungent that it was difficult to breathe without a mask, they said.

Authorities mobilised 14 firefighting vehicles and 98 personnel to prevent Hahoe village from any possible fire-related damage. Firefighters have been busy spraying water and flame retardant over Hahoe village houses and the pine forest around the village every two hours.

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