Light rain brought some relief to South Korean authorities battling the country's worst wildfires on record, as weary firefighters launched another push Friday to contain blazes stretching 70 kilometers (44 miles).
At least 28 people have died, and more than 45,000 hectares (111,197 acres) of mostly forested land in the southeast have been scorched or remain ablaze.
Strong winds have fueled the fires for over a week, spreading them from central Uiseong County to coastal regions.
"Conditions are very good, and we have a chance, so we're deploying all available resources to try to contain the main fires today," Korea Forest Service Minister Lim Sang-seop told a media briefing.
As of early Friday, Uiseong reported that fires had been extinguished in 95% of the area, and flames in 85% of the neighboring Andong city, home to UNESCO World Heritage sites, had been doused, according to the Korea Forest Service.
Yeongdeok County on the east coast, where the fire spread from the initial blaze more than 70 km away in under 12 hours, was still struggling to contain the flames, with nearly a third of the area still ablaze.
Light rain of less than 3 mm (0.12 inch) fell in some parts of the region on Thursday, providing "a little help," forest service spokesman Kim Jong-gun said.
Firefighters and helicopters were taking advantage of more favorable weather and better visibility to make progress before winds are expected to pick up later Friday, he added.
The blazes that began in Uiseong have become the largest single forest fire in South Korea's history, destroying an area equivalent to about two-thirds of the island of Singapore – much larger than the Los Angeles fires in January.
More than 80 helicopters began flying at daybreak on Friday to dump water, the safety ministry said. South Korea relies on helicopters to fight forest fires due to its mountainous terrain. A helicopter pilot died Wednesday after crashing while trying to tackle a blaze.
Poor visibility, partly due to smoke, and strong winds prevented many helicopters from flying on Wednesday and Thursday. They are also not used after dark.
North Gyeongsang province Governor Lee Cheol-woo said the ferocity of the blaze and the conditions that fueled it showed that the "current forest fire response must be completely overhauled."
He cited how even boats moored in the sea were not safe from the flames, with showers of embers setting 12 vessels ablaze. Lee called for South Korea to consider using larger fixed-wing aircraft to help douse fires.
Experts have said the Uiseong fire demonstrated an extremely unusual spread in terms of scale and speed, with climate change expected to make wildfires more frequent and deadly globally.
A forest service official said satellite imagery analysis showed the fire traveled at 8.2 kilometers per hour at its peak, equivalent to the pace of an average adult running.
The wildfires have displaced more than 30,000 residents, many of whom are elderly, and ravaged everything in their path, including historic temples and homes, in the mountainous forest regions of North Gyeongsang province.
The U.S. State Department offered condolences for the loss of life and damage and said the U.S. military stood ready to help, noting how South Korea had provided "unwavering support" during wildfires in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
"Just as you have stood with us, we will stand with you," spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
