Wildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size on Thursday from a day earlier, as authorities called the blazes the country’s worst natural fire disaster, with at least 26 people killed and historic temples incinerated.
More than 33,000 hectares (81,500 acres) have been charred or are 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’s history.
The previous record was 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) in a March 2000 fire.
Many of those who had perished were aged in their 60s and 70s, said Son Chang-ho, a local police official.
The deadly wildfires have spread rapidly and forced more than 27,000 residents to flee their homes, the government said.
The Uiseong fire, only 68% contained and exacerbated by gusty winds, shows “unimaginable” scale and speed, said Lee Byung-doo, a forest disaster expert at the National Institute of Forest Science.
The blazes, fuelled by strong winds and dry weather, have razed entire neighbourhoods, closed schools, and forced authorities to transfer hundreds of inmates from prisons.
South Korea relies on helicopters to help extinguish wildfires due to its mountainous terrain, but Lee said there was a need to bring in other fire-fighting aircraft and drones that can operate at night.
The Korea Forest Service said that it had grounded all of its fire-fighting helicopters after a chopper crashed on Wednesday while trying to put out a blaze. The pilot died in the crash, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The agency has been facing technical issues with its fleet of 48 Russian helicopters. Eight had been out of operation since last year due to an inability to import parts from Russia because of sanctions related to the Ukraine war, Yoon Joon-byeong, a Democratic Party lawmaker said in October, using data from the forest service.
The government has designated the affected areas as special disaster zones and said the fires had damaged more than 15,000 hectares (37,065 acres).
