Deadly wildfires in South Korea worsened overnight, officials said yesterday, as dry, windy weather hampered efforts to contain one of the nation’s worst-ever fire outbreaks.
More than a dozen different blazes broke out over the weekend, with Acting South Korean Interior and Safety Minister Ko Ki-dong reporting thousands of hectares burned and four people killed.
“The wildfires have so far affected about 14,694 hectares, with damage continuing to grow,” Ko said.
Photo: Yonhap via Reuters
The extent of damage would make the fires collectively the third-largest in South Korea’s history. The largest was an April 2000 blaze that scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast.
More than 3,000 people have been evacuated to shelters, Ko said. At least 11 people have been seriously injured.
“Strong winds, dry weather and haze are hampering firefighting efforts,” Ko told a disaster and safety meeting.
The government is “mobilizing all available resources,” he said.
In Uiseong, the sky was full of smoke and haze. Workers at a local temple were attempting to move historical artefacts and cover up Buddhist statues to protect them from possible damage.
The Korea Forest Service said the containment rate for the fire in Uiseong decreased from 60 to 55 percent by yesterday morning.
More than 6,700 firefighters have been deployed to battle the wildfires, the South Korean Ministry of Interior and Safety said, with nearly two-fifths of the personnel dispatched to Uiseong.
The government declared a state of emergency in four regions, citing “the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country.”
Some types of extreme weather have a well-established link with climate change, such as heat waves or heavy rainfall. Other phenomena, such as forest fires, droughts, snowstorms and tropical storms can result from a combination of complex factors.
In Daegu and the North Gyeongsang region, “the air is extremely dry and strong winds are blowing, creating the risk that even a small spark could quickly spread into a large wildfire,” an official from the local meteorological administration said.
The fire in Uiseong was reportedly caused by an individual visiting a family grave.
The person told emergency services: “I accidentally started the fire while cleaning the grave site,” local media reported.
South Korea’s acting president confirmed this was likely the case.
“The wildfire is believed to have been caused by an individual who was visiting an ancestral grave and accidentally started the blaze,” South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “Most wildfires are caused by human negligence and the public should strictly follow wildfire prevention guidelines.”
Japan was also experiencing wildfires, with hundreds of firefighters battling a blaze in Imabari of western Ehime region since Sunday. Another wildfire, which also started on Sunday, was affecting the city of Okayama, burning about 250 hectares and damaging six buildings.
Japan experienced the nation’s worst wildfire in more than half a century earlier this month. It engulfed about 2,900 hectares and killed at least one person.
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