SEOUL: South Korean authorities said on Monday (Mar 24) they would deploy dozens of helicopters and thousands of firefighters and soldiers as they struggle to control multiple wildfires in the southeast, which have been burning for days.
Four people have been killed so far, with officials warning that high winds and rising temperatures were hindering efforts to put out the blazes.
In Uiseong, nearly 7,000 ha of land has been affected and around 600 people evacuated, Lim Sang-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service, told a press briefing.
“A total of 57 wildfire fighting helicopters are to be deployed to extinguish the fire,” he said, adding that more than 2,600 fire fighting personnel – including soldiers – would be mobilised “to respond with all their might”.
The fire had been partly contained but was still burning as of Monday afternoon.
The forest agency has issued “severe” fire warnings, its highest level, in multiple locations, including North and South Gyeongsang provinces, Busan and Daejeon.
A major wildfire claimed four lives over the weekend in Sancheong county, in South Gyeongsang province, about 250km southeast of Seoul.
That fire was also partly contained by Monday – but still burning.
The government declared a state of emergency in the affected regions, citing “the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country”.
