Gilan Middle School's evacuation center in Gilan-myeon, Andong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do on the 27th. The 76-year-old head of Daegok 2-ri, Kim Jeong-dong, who is spending two nights here, is unable to sleep at night due to worries about his livelihood. "There are 29 families in our village, and all of them are burned," said Kim, who has never experienced such a big fire in his life, and complained, "The only property I have is my body." Kim's apple field, which has made a living by apple farming, is in full bloom by now, but it has burned black, ruining all farming this year.
Life in the shelter is difficult. About 150 victims are living here alone, including head of the village Kim. But without a tent for relief, everyone is sleeping on the bare floor with Styrofoam. Due to the large number of elderly people, there are not a few victims who usually take medicine, but medicine is scarce. Kim said, "The elderly are all cold, so they can't even sleep properly," adding, "I have nowhere to go back because I don't have a house, but I just sigh."
Wildfires in northern Gyeongsangbuk-do, which became the worst "monster forest fire" of all time, took away the daily lives of victims overnight. More than 8,000 victims in five cities and counties, including Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok, are unable to return to their homes due to the forest fire. I don't even know when I can go home.
Recovery from the damage caused by the all-time forest fire is at a loss. Most of the affected residents are engaged in agriculture. However, not only houses, but also fields and agricultural machinery are burned down, and livelihoods are about to be stopped. The estimated damage to crops in Uiseong alone is 215 hectares. Andong does not even dare to count the damage, and only about 10 factories in the agricultural and industrial complex are identified. If the fire is extinguished and a full-fledged investigation begins in the future, it is impossible to guess how much the damage will increase.
Residents who returned home are also struggling to return to their daily lives. This is because danjeon and dansu are still present. In Andong, tap water supply has been cut off for two days in parts of Iljik-myeon, Namseon-myeon, Gilan-myeon, Immyeon, Namhu-myeon, Imdong-myeon, and Pungcheon-myeon, and more than 170 households are currently cut off from electricity. In Yeongdeok, tap water supply was cut off in Dalsan-myeon and Jipum-myeon, and electricity was cut off in some areas.
News of the unfortunate death is also continuing. In Yeongdeok, a wildfire monitor in his 60s was found burned to death in the vehicle. The man went missing while returning home after being put into the scene of the fire, and his family reported it to the police. A police official said, "It appears to have been engulfed in flames on the road while returning home." Inside the temple's Beopseongsa Temple in Yeongyang, the head monk Seonjeong (85) was also found to be in a state of sosa. It is known that he had been studying here before becoming the governor of Beopseongsa Temple in 2002.
National parks, cultural properties, and endangered species are also suffering significant damage from the forest fires. On the 25th, the National Heritage Administration issued a "serious" state heritage crisis warning and transferred artifacts. This is the first time that the national heritage crisis warning has been raised to the highest level of seriousness. According to the National Heritage Administration, a total of 23 cases of damage have been confirmed in national heritage due to the forest fire. In particular, among the state-designated treasures, the Uiseong Gounsa Yeonsujeon Hall and the Gawnu Pavilion were burned down, and the Sanam House, a state-designated folk cultural heritage, was also burned down. Fire protection lines were established in Andong Hahoe Village and Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, which have not yet been damaged by fire, by removing surrounding trees, and fire protection guns were installed.
As the damage from forest fires increases, there is also concern about habitat disturbance for endangered species. Jirisan Mountain and Juwangsan Mountain are natural monuments and are home to Asiatic black bears and mountain goats, which are the first-class endangered species.
Jirisan Mountain is still struggling to evolve due to its rough mountains and strong winds. I expected the rain forecast to fall on this day, but it was a very small amount, so it did not have an evolutionary effect. According to forest authorities, 30-40 hectares were burned as of 9 a.m. that day due to forest fires in Jirisan National Park.
[Andong Woo Sung-deok / Sancheong reporter Choi Seung-kyun / Seoul reporter Ji Hye-jin]
