Wind turbine fire near Yangsan prompts Gyeongnam wind farm inspections

What happened

On 10 February 2026 a wind turbine caught fire on a hillside near Eden Valley in Eogok-dong, Yangsan, Gyeongnam Province, South Korea. The fire partly burned the turbine generator and scrub growth beneath it. No one was injured. Six people, including staff from the wind farm and staff from a nearby temple, evacuated the area. The source does not state the turbine model, the operator, the cause of the fire or how long it took to bring under control.

Following the fire, Gyeongnam Province began a full safety inspection of its seven onshore wind farms in October 2026. The sites comprise five in Yangsan, one in Uiryeong and one in Geochang, with inspections running by the 30th of the month alongside city and county authorities, the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation and fire services.

Contributing factors

The article links the concern about safety to the age of the fleet, stating that turbines more than ten years after construction now make up 76 per cent of the wind turbines in the province. The source does not identify a cause for the February fire.

Lessons learned

1. Ageing turbine fleets should have routine checks on foundations, anchor bolts, switchgear insulation and high-voltage signage built into the inspection programme.
2. Fire response manuals and emergency contact networks should be agreed with local fire services and regulators before an incident occurs.
3. Sites should keep electrical safety managers, inspection records, boundary fencing and warning signs in good order, since these are checked first in a regulatory inspection.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, fire suppression and firefighting, theft, arson and site security, from every incident on the register.

Source

dabanews.co.kr