This photo, taken March 28, 2025, shows a mountainous area that a massive wildfire ripped through for one week in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea, as forestry authorities say it had been 95 percent contained as of 5 a.m. the same day. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
UISEONG, South Korea, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Firefighters on Friday raced to put out the main blazes in southeastern regions, helped by better visibility and cooler temperatures from overnight rain, as the nation is battling the worst wildlife disaster, which has claimed 28 lives so far.
Fueled by strong winds and dry conditions, a wave of wildfires has devastated the regions since last Friday, injuring 37 people and forcing some 38,000 people to flee, according to the government’s disaster response agency.
About 48,000 hectares of woodland, roughly equivalent to some 80 percent of the size of capital Seoul, have been scorched, the agency said earlier in the day.
It is nearly 25,000 ha more than the 23,794 ha damaged by the east coast wildfires in 2000, which were the worst in the nation’s history at the time.
“We plan to mobilize all available resources to extinguish the main flames by the end of the day,” Lim Sang-seop, chief of the Korea Forest Service (KFS), told reporters.
The improved visibility and cooler temperatures from the overnight rain have created “favorable” conditions to control the blaze, according to Lim.
“We will make every effort by deploying helicopters, personnel and other resources to contain the fire,” he added.
In some signs of relief, rainfall overnight helped firefighters rein in fires and enable them to focus on extinguishing the main blazes in multiple locations.
Some 5,580 personnel, 86 firefighting helicopters and 569 fire trucks were deployed Friday to fully contain the wildfire in Uiseong and other regions in North Gyeongsang Province.
The containment rate of the massive wildfire in Uiseong that has spread to other regions for eight days has risen to 95 percent, officials said.
Efforts will be concentrated in the counties of Yeongdeok, Cheongsong and Yeongyang, where there is a high risk of further spread.
Less than 5 millimeters of rain is expected along the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province, including Yeongdeok, on Friday morning.
