South Korean firefighting teams managed Thursday morning to control a forest fire in the southeastern town of Hapcheon.
The Korea Forest Service said in a statement that the fire started on a hill in the Hapcheon, about 355 kilometres southeast of Seoul on Wednesday and quickly spread due to strong winds.
The main body of the fire was contained at around 10 am Thursday, after damaging 163 hectares of forest area, equivalent to the size of 228 football fields.
No casualties or property damage have been reported. A total of 214 people from six villages were evacuated Wednesday and returned home Thursday morning.
Over the course of two days, a total of 2,970 personnel and 152 pieces of equipment, including firetrucks, were deployed to extinguish the wildfire.
Officials said 10 helicopters and 830 personnel will remain on standby.
The authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire as soon as all remaining flames are extinguished.
