Residents in Andong city advised to evacuate as wildfires spread

Officials in the South Korean city of Andong yesterday advised residents to evacuate to safe areas as firefighters struggled to contain wildfires that have ravaged southern regions since last week, forcing thousands to flee and destroying dozens of structures, including a 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple.

Thousands of firefighters in South Korea were battling at least nine wildfires across the country as of yesterday afternoon, after the blazes fueled by dry winds burned more than 36,300 acres of land in the past five days.

Officials in Andong, a city in the country’s southeast, and the nearby town of Uiseong ordered residents in several villages to evacuate to temporary shelters, including an elementary school and indoor gymnasium, as a blaze that began in Uiseong continued to spread from strong winds.

The blaze in Uiseong destroyed Gounsa, a Buddhist temple built in the 7th century, according to officials from the Korea Heritage Service. There were no immediate reports of injuries, and some of the temple’s national treasures, including a stone Buddha statue, were evacuated before the fire reached the wooden buildings.

The Korea Forest Service raised its wildfire warning to the highest “serious” level nationwide, requiring local governments to allocate a larger workforce for emergency response, tighten entry restrictions for forests and parks, and recommend that military units withhold live-fire exercises.

South Korean officials said earlier yesterday that firefighters had extinguished most of the flames from the largest wildfires in the country’s southern regions, including Uiseong, the neighboring town of Sancheong, and Ulsan city. However, the ongoing dry and windy weather now appears to be causing setbacks.

Four firefighters and government workers were killed in Sancheong on Saturday after being trapped by fast-moving flames driven by strong winds. At least 11 other people have been injured by wildfires around the country since last Friday that forced more than 5,400 to evacuate from their homes and damaged or destroyed more than 150 buildings, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The national government designated the hardest-hit southeastern regions as disaster zones to focus resources and accelerate recovery efforts. MDT/AP