SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Rain and cooler temperatures are helping South Korean fire crews as they battle the country’s worst-ever wildfires on Friday, as the governor of the hardest-hit region called for overhauling response strategies to respond to the climate crisis that he says worsened the disaster. The , which have killed 28 people and razed vast swaths of land in the southeast in the last week, were 85% contained as of Friday morning, Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop told a televised briefing. He said authorities will launch “all-out efforts” to extinguish the remaining blazes by bringing more helicopters and fire fighters to the areas.
The raging inferno has also destroyed thousands of houses, factories, vehicles and other structures, while mountains and hills were stripped of anything but a carpet of smoldering ashes. “Hazes have been diminished because of the rain last night, so that’s favorable for securing visibility. Also temperatures are now lower than the last few days, so things are very favorable to put out the wildfires,” Lim said.
Firefighters — many in their 60s, a reflection of one of the world’s fastest-aging populations — navigated forests in yellow helmets and red protective suits, spraying suppressants at flames that flickered near their feet. Helicopters dropped buckets of water over hills that glowed red in the night. Residents hunkered down in temporary shelters in places like schools and gyms, but the fire crept dangero.