More than 500 people evacuated from their homes in South Korea's eastern coastal city of Gangneung as strong winds fanned a wildfire on Tuesday, officials said, but fears of a further spread eased as rain helped firefighters battle the blaze.
The fire, which started at around 8:30 a.m. local time (2330 GMT on Monday) in Gangneung, was mostly extinguished as of 4:30 p.m., after consuming 170 hectares (420 acres) of land and prompting the evacuation of some 550 residents in the city of more than 200,000 people, the Korea Forest Service said.
