South Korean firefighters make progress in containing wildfires in southeastern regions

Seoul, Mar 25 (AP) South Korean firefighters on Tuesday appeared closer to containing the largest wildfires in the country's southeastern regions, after the blazes fuelled by dry winds burned more than 36,300 acres of land across the country in the past five days.
     Thousands of firefighters, along with hundreds of vehicles and more than 100 helicopters, were deployed to battle the fires in Sancheong county, the neighbouring town of Uiseong and Ulsan city, according to the Korea Forest Service.
     Around 90 per cent of the fires in Sancheong and Uiseong and more than half of the blaze in Ulsan were extinguished as of Tuesday morning, officials said, but firefighters were also responding to several other fires in the country's southern regions.
     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.
     Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, serving as the country's acting leader following President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over a December martial law decree, vowed an all-out effort to contain the wildfires during a government meeting on Tuesday. He also urged public vigilance as dry spring weather persists.
     Government officials suspect that several of the recent wildfires, including those in Uiseong and Ulsan, were caused by human error, possibly due to the use of fire to clear overgrown grass in family tombs or sparks from welding work. (AP) ARD
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)