SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea issued Level 1 forest fire response alert early on Sunday, as a wildfire erupted in the forests of Yangyang in Gangwon Province in the northeast part of the country, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.

The Korea Forest Service activated Level 1 alerts as firefighting efforts continued in the popular camping and beach town, which is now estimated to cover between 10 and 50 hectares.

Forest authorities deployed 101 fire suppression vehicles and 326 personnel to contain the blaze and 25 helicopters are on their way to be deployed on Sunday.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by David Gregorio)

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