Firefighters extinguished a wildfire in the northeastern county of Yangyang on Saturday that burned an estimated 81 hectares of woodland in a rural town, officials said.

The fire started in the roadside forest in the coastal county, about 215 kilometers east of Seoul, at 1:32 p.m. Friday.

Local forest and fire authorities sent 1,191 firefighters and 18 helicopters to combat the blaze as it spread fast due to the dry weather and high winds of up to 17 meters per second.

They brought the main front of the flames under control at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, officials said.

About 660 firefighters and five choppers were mobilized Saturday morning and fully put out the fire at 11:30 a.m.

Officials estimated the fire burned about 81 hectares of woodland, equivalent to 113 football fields. But there were no casualties or property damage, they said.

Fourteen residents of a village who were evacuated to safety Friday returned home early the following day.

Source: Yonhap News Agency