The temple of Gounsa destroyed; dozens of deaths, injured in wooded fires

Tuesday before, the officials had said that the firefighters had extinct most of the flames from larger fires in those areas, but the wind and dry conditions allowed the flames to spread.

Uiseong’s fire destroyed almost half of more than 30 structures in Gounsa, a temple complex originally built in the seventh century. Among the destroyed structures were two “treasures” designed by the state-a-shaped structure of pavilion built on a flow built in 1668 and a Joseon dynasty structure built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king.

According to reports, a statue of Buddha of stone built in the eighth century was evacuated in a safe place, according to government officials and Buddhists.

The Korea forestry service has declared that it has raised its firefighting warning to the “severe” higher level at national level that requires local governments to assign more workers to response to emergencies, strengthen the input restrictions for forests and parks and recommend that military units draw live fire exercises.

The 18 dead include four firefighters and government operators killed in Sancheong on Saturday after being trapped by rapid movement flames, according to officials.

Government officials suspect that human error has caused many fires, probably due to the use of fire to eliminate the grass invaded in family tombs or sparks from the welding works.

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