South Korea wildfires now largest and deadliest on record

The wildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size Thursday, authorities said, with the death toll rising to 27 and more than 30 people injured, according to Yonhap news agency. 

The fires are believed to be South Korea's deadliest on record, officials said, adding that the inferno has burned through more than 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres).

"We are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires," acting President Han Duck-soo told a government response meeting.

Fires fueled by strong winds

South Korea's disaster response center said the blazes have destroyed 325 buildings and structures, and forced more than 37,180 people to evacuate.

The center said that authorities were mobilizing more than 9,000 people and about 120 helicopters to battle the blazes as of Thursday morning.

The military has released stocks of aviation fuel to help keep firefighting helicopters in the air to douse the flames across the mountainous regions in the southeast.

South Korea is largely mountainous and firefighters rely on helicopters to douse the fast-moving flames. A helicopter pilot died Wednesday after crashing while trying to tackle a blaze.

A helicopter drops water on a wildfire near Uiseong, South Korea, on ThursdayImage: Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS

In Cheongsong, one of the counties hit by the fires, heavy smoke blanketed the Juwang Mountain.

Helicopters repeatedly hovered over the mountain, dropping water, and that appeared to have helped because thick smoke dissipated later in the day.

Acting President Han Duck-soo said Wednesday that crews were struggling to put out the fires because strong winds and dry conditions were causing the wildfires to spread rapidly.

Wildfire destroys ancient temple

A number of heritage pieces, including Buddha statues, were removed from historic sites threatened by the blazes in the southeast of the country, according to the Korea Heritage Service.

"About 750 people were deployed to national heritage sites as of Wednesday, and preliminary checks and emergency measures are being taken," the service said in a statement.

The service said at least 18 heritage sites or objects, including the Gounsa temple complex in Uiseong, had been destroyed or damaged as of Thursday. 

Another 1,566 historic items were lost in the fires.

At Andong Hahoe folk village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, authorities deployed retardant and other measures in a desperate attempt to save its thatch-roof buildings.

The site, once the heartland of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) that ruled the Korean Peninsula for more than five hundred years, has been left undamaged as of Thursday.

The fires have damaged historic sites including much of Gounsa Temple, which was first built in 681Image: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

What caused the fires?

Officials suspect human error caused several of the wildfires, citing cases where people started fires while clearing overgrown grass from family tombs or with sparks during welding work.

South Korea Forest Lim Sang-seop said a small amount of rain was expected in the area on Thursday, not enough to play a big role in extinguishing the wildfires.

Lee Han-kyung, deputy head of the government's disaster response center, told a meeting Thursday that the wildfires have again disclosed "the reality of climate crisis that we have yet experienced," according to Yonhap news agency.  

Edited by: Wesley Rahn