Minwoo Park and Daewoung Kim
Anton, South Korea (Reuters) – South Korea’s wildfires doubled on Thursday as authorities said spirits called the country’s worst natural fire disaster, with at least 26 people killed and historic temples burned.
More than 33,000 hectares (81,500 acres) have been scorched or are still burning in the largest fire in central Urison County, making it the largest single forest fire in South Korea’s history. Previous records were 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) in the March 2000 fire.
“We are in a critical situation nationwide due to the rapid and rapid spread of forest fires,” Acting President Han Duck-soo said in a government response meeting.
The military released a large amount of aviation fuel to help keep fire helicopters flying to flame planes in the mountains of southeastern parts of the country, where the fires had occurred for nearly a week.
The Ministry of Security said more than 120 helicopters have been deployed in three areas fighting the fire. South Korea relies on helicopters to defeat forest fires due to its mountainous terrain.
The wildfires originating from Uiseong have been moving rapidly eastward, almost spreading to the coast, exacerbating the situation with strong winds and dry conditions.
Although the Meteorological Bureau predicts rainfall in the southwest, it is expected that precipitation in most affected areas will not exceed five millimeters.
“The amount of rainfall will be small, so trying to put out the fire is not very helpful,” South Korean Forest Services Minister Lim Sang-Seop told the briefing.
Experts say the Uiseong fires showed extremely unusual transmission in terms of their size and speed, and climate change is expected to make wildfires more frequent and deadly around the world.
In a report, an independent agency composed of scientists and researchers, higher temperatures caused by human-induced climate change promote existing seasonal drying conditions, “turning dry landscapes into dangerous fires.”
(Other reports by Nicoco Chan and Hongji Kim at Uiseong; writing by Jack Kim; editing by Ed Davies and Michael Perry)
