Wildfires sweeping through South Korea since last Friday have killed at least 28 people, injured dozens more and charred about 48,000 hectares (118,000 acres) of forest, according to local news agency Yonhap.
But better visibility and cooler temperatures following overnight rainfall on Thursday have led to improved firefighting conditions against the blazes that were driven by strong winds from central Uiseong county to coastal regions.
Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from Uiseong, said, “It’s too early to call it a turning point, but of the 11 big fires that were raging, five have been completely contained overnight.
“And while some are still burning intensely, we are seeing good results in places like Uiseong. Fires are down to 5 percent of what they were,” he said.
Still, about 38,000 residents have so far had to flee affected areas, the government’s disaster response agency has said.
“We plan to mobilise all available resources to extinguish the main flames by the end of the day,” said Lim Sang-seop, chief of the Korea Forest Service told Yonhap.
The fires have been fuelled by dry winds and a prolonged drought, according to officials. Wildfires are not uncommon in South Korea during dry spells.
In recent years, both average temperatures and extreme weather events have increased in the country, significantly raising the risk and severity of fires.
Experts view the increase in wildfires as a sign of the ongoing effects of climate change.
Al Jazeera’s Barton reported that “many houses and farms across this area [around Uiseong] have been destroyed. Many people, tens of thousands, have been evacuated and remain displaced.
“South Korea’s acting president Han Duck-soo said that ‘all efforts will be taken’ to help people access financial resources to get their homes rebuilt. He said that money should be limitless,” Barton said.
“Local governments are saying they will try and move them out of the tent evacuation camps as quickly as possible in temporary process. But it will be a long process,” he added.
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