South Korea Faces Worst Wildfires Amid Climate Crisis
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Hikers were advised to leave the scenic Jiri mountain as another fire spread closer.
The wildfires originated in Uiseong and have been moving rapidly eastward, spreading almost to the coast, carried by gusty winds and with dry conditions aggravating the situation.
The meteorological agency has forecast some rain for the south-west but precipitation is expected to be under 5mm for most of the affected areas.
“The amount of rain is going to be small so it doesn’t look like it’ll be big help in trying to extinguish the fire,” said the Korea Forest Service minister, Lim Sang-seop, as quoted from Guardian.
Officials said earlier this week that firefighters had extinguished most of the flames from the largest wildfires in key areas, but wind and dry conditions allowed them to spread again.
Houses, factories, vehicles and some historic structures have been destroyed in the fires. In Uiseong, about 20 of the 30 structures at the Gounsa temple complex – which was said to be originally built in the 7th century – have been burned. Among them were two state-designated “treasures” – a pavilion-shaped building erected overlooking a stream in 1668, and a Joseon dynasty structure built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king.
Experts have said the Uiseong fire showed extremely unusual spread in terms of its scale and speed, and that climate change was expected to make wildfires more frequent and deadly globally.
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