Thousands of South Koreans fled their homes Friday as a large wildfire ripped through an eastern coastal area and temporarily threatened a nuclear power station before being driven away by winds. The Hanul Nuclear Power Plant and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production complex were successfully protected from the wildfire, the head of Korea Forest Service (KFS) said on Saturday. The government issued a natural disaster alert after a wildfire broke out near the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in the eastern coastal county of Uljin on Friday. The fire reached the perimeter of the plant, forcing the operator to reduce operations to 50 percent. “We successfully protected the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant, the LNG gas storage as well as the transmission lines,” Minister of Korea Forest Service (KFS), Choi Byeong-am told reporters. Choi added that authorities are aiming to extinguish the fire before sunset, mobilizing more than 3,000 firefighters, 236 fire trucks, …