As a wildfire in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province, entered its third day, forest authorities deployed dozens of helicopters at sunrise to contain the blaze.

The Korea Forest Service said on Monday that 23 percent, or two-point-64 kilometers, of the fire line had been contained as of 5 a.m.

The blaze, the year's first large-scale wildfire impacting nearly 190 hectares, has prompted forest and fire authorities to mobilize all available resources.

It began at 9:14 p.m. on Saturday, and forest authorities issued a Level 2 wildfire response alert at 10:30 p.m. the following day.

The Level 2 alert is issued when the estimated damage exceeds 100 hectares, average wind speeds exceed 11 meters per second or containment is expected to take more than 48 hours.

The National Fire Agency also activated a national fire mobilization order at 11:14 p.m. on Sunday, a measure taken when a disaster exceeds the response capacity of a single province.