South Korea’s largest wildfires on record blazed through the country’s southeast for a seventh day, with firefighters, soldiers and heritage workers racing to evacuate people and save ancient treasures from the encroaching flames.
At least 37,000 people were evacuated from their homes as the fires, which have left 27 people dead, spread in the dry and windy weather. The fires had burned over 88,000 acres of land, the biggest on record in South Korea, according to the Interior Ministry. The largest blaze in Euiseong County was only about halfway contained on Thursday.
Rescue crews were also focusing on saving as many relics and heritage buildings as possible after two 1,000-year-old Buddhist temples burned to the ground. Around two dozen buildings, trees, statues and other things with national heritage status have been lost to the flames so far, according to the Korea Heritage Service, the government body responsible for the conservation of national treasures and sites.
A statue of a seated Buddha from the early 9th century that was reduced to ashes. And the base and branches of a 400-year-old tree considered the guardian of a local village was charred in the flames.
The heritage service said it deployed around 750 people across the region to protect or remove what still remains. The southeastern region is home to a large proportion of the more than 4,000 items on the country’s national heritage list.
In the city of Andong, firefighters and officials worked to protect UNESCO Heritage sites as the inferno threatened to spread to those locations. In the 600-year-old Hahoe folk village, firefighters hosed buildings as helicopters dropped buckets of water from above. Workers relocated signage from the Byeongsanseowon Confucian Academy, a tourist attraction.
While the government has successfully evacuated tens of thousands of residents across at least eight cities and counties, thousands of others have stayed behind. Many remained to protect their homes, businesses, livestock and pets. Local residents pleaded with firefighters to put out fires near their houses or restaurants.
One Andong resident said he and his wife were at home when their house caught fire. They had tried, but failed, to stop the fire by dousing it with water and were forced to evacuate. But they wanted to stay close to their house to protect their 22 cows, which survived, so they have been sleeping inside their car since Tuesday.
Earlier this week, strong winds kept helicopters and drones grounded, officials said. One pilot died when a helicopter crashed while fighting the fire, though officials have not disclosed the cause. Smoke and smog decreased road and air visibility, making driving and flying near impossible. The Interior Ministry said a lawn mower had started the first of the fires on Friday.
Conditions had improved by Thursday, and over 100 helicopters were deployed to the missions, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. At least one U.S. military helicopter joined the effort, the government said.
Emergency workers and residents are hoping the weather may turn in their favor, with light rain forecast for Thursday by the country’s meteorological agency. Government officials said this would do little to help put out the fires but could weaken the further spread of the flames.
