South Korea: Race to save lives and ancient artefacts as wildfires rage

South Korean firefighters are working tirelessly to save lives and ancient artifacts from the country's largest wildfire in history. The wildfire has already claimed the lives of at least 27 people, making it one of the deadliest fires in South Korea's history. Another 32 people have been injured, some of them seriously, requiring urgent medical attention.

According to local officials, most of the victims were between 60 and 70 years old. The wildfire is believed to have started nearly a week ago in Sancheong County in southeastern South Korea, sparked by an accidental activity by a local resident. Strong winds and dry weather conditions have fueled the blaze, causing it to spread to several neighboring counties, including Uiseong County, which is the site of the largest fire currently.

Authorities believe the fire in Uiseong County was ignited when tourists were tidying up family graves on a hillside. Video from the gravesite showed a lighter on the ground. Other fires are suspected to have been caused by welding sparks or burning trash. So far, the fires have burned more than 35,810 hectares (88,500 acres) of land, an area about half the size of New York City. As the fires continue to spread, artifacts, including wooden printing blocks and paintings, have been moved from major temples for safekeeping.

Authorities are closely monitoring the potential damage to two UNESCO-listed World Heritage sites: Hahoe Folk Village in Andong and Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy. The ancient Guun Temple, built in 618 AD, has been destroyed, and it was one of the largest temples in the province. The forestry department confirmed that a Buddhist building from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), considered a national treasure, was also destroyed.

Tens of thousands of people have already been ordered to evacuate due to the fires. Kwon Young-chang, 35, told the BBC that smoke filled his neighborhood in Andong, forcing him to head north to Yecheon. "The damage in Andong is devastating, and our neighbors have suffered tremendous losses, they are in deep despair," he said. Mr. Kwon said the official information he received was confusing, and he has been getting updates from local authorities' social media pages. He worries that elderly people cannot access this information. Another Andong resident, who asked not to be named, told the BBC Korean service that her house, where her family had lived for more than 30 years, "was completely burned down in just a few hours." She said: "Nothing is left. You can't even tell where the house used to be. It's heartbreaking to see the village like this."

Jang Jeong-sook, who lives in Cheongsong County, said her beekeeping farm was completely destroyed by the fire. "We saw the fire spreading to our village on a day with very strong winds. It was even hard to stand still," Jang said. After a brief evacuation, she and her husband returned to find their house damaged and their business, which they had been running for five years and was just starting to become stable, gone. Jang said her husband couldn't help but cry when he saw the damage. "I'm overwhelmed. I need to figure out how to start over," she said.

While weather rarely causes wildfires on its own, it can provide conditions that help them spread. This is exactly what has happened in South Korea. Temperatures several degrees above the seasonal average, combined with dry ground, strong winds, and low humidity, have fueled fires that authorities say were started by human activity. Lee Han-kyung, a government official in charge of emergency response, said: "We are witnessing the reality of the climate crisis in an unprecedented way."