More than 38,000 hectares have been charred or still burning, making it biggest forest fire in country\u2019s history
\n ANDONG
\nWildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size on Thursday from a day earlier, as authorities called the blazes the country\u2019s worst natural fire disaster with at least 28 people killed and historic temples incinerated.
\nMore than 38,000 hectares (93,900 acres) have been charred or were still burning in the largest of the fires that began in the central Uiseong county, making it the biggest single forest fire in South Korea\u2019s history. The previous record was 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) in a March 2000 fire.
\n\u201cWe are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires,\u201d Acting President Han Duck-soo told a government response meeting.
\nThe military has released stocks of aviation fuel to help keep firefighting helicopters flying to douse flames across mountainous regions in the southeast of the country where fires have been burning now for nearly a week.
\nMore than 120 helicopters have been deployed in three regions battling the blazes, the safety ministry said. South Korea relies on helicopters to fight forest fires because of its mountainous terrain. A helicopter pilot died on Wednesday after crashing while trying to tackle a blaze.
\nThe wildfires that originated in Uiseong have been moving rapidly eastward, spreading almost to the coast, carried by gusty winds and with dry conditions aggravating the situation.
\nThe Uiseong fire began spreading quickly on Wednesday, reaching the coastal county of Yeongdeok about 50 km (30 miles) away in just 12 hours, said Won Myung-soo, director of satellite imagery analysis for the national forestry service.
\nOn Thursday evening, it rained briefly in some parts of the affected region. Precipitation of around one millimetre was too little to extinguish the main fire, but will help contain it, officials said.
\nAbout the same amount of rain is expected for some areas on Friday.
\nExperts have said the Uiseong fire showed extremely unusual spread in terms of its scale and speed, and that climate change is expected to make wildfires more frequent and deadly globally.
\nHigher temperatures amplified by human-caused climate change contributed to the existing seasonally dry conditions, \u201cturning dry landscapes into dangerous fire fuel\u201d in the region, the Climate Central group, an independent body made up of scientists and researchers, said in a report.
\nThe wildfires have carved a trail of devastation through an area equivalent to about half of Singapore, ravaging everything in their path including historic temples and homes in the mountainous forest regions of North Gyeongsang province.
\nTeams of firefighters are on standby to protect the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hahoe Village and the Byeongsan Confucian Academy in the city of Andong, if a blaze jumps the stream that flows around them.
\nThe picturesque folk village has traditional Korean houses, many with thatched roofs, while the Confucian academy dates back more than 450 years.
\nThe fires have already badly damaged other historic sites, including much of Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, which was built in 681.
\n\u201cThe buildings and remains of what Buddhist monks have left over 1,300 years are now all gone,\u201d said Deungwoon, the head of the Gounsa Temple.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 38,000 hectares have been charred or still burning, making it biggest forest fire in country\u2019s history ANDONG Wildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size on Thursday from a day earlier, as authorities called the blazes the country\u2019s worst natural fire disaster with at least 28 people killed and historic temples incinerated. More […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-469589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n