Main blaze in massive wildfire in Sancheong contained after nearly 10 days

It took almost 10 days, but the main blaze in Sancheong County has been finally contained.

South Korea's worst wildfires in history resulted in at least 30 deaths.

Lee Seung-jae leads us this morning.

The massive wildfire that began in Sancheong County in Gyeongsangnam-do Province and spread through nearby regions, causing the worst wildfires in South Korea's history has been fully contained.

According to forestry officials, the main fires were contained as of 1 PM Sunday, nearly 10 days after the initial blaze broke out on March 21.

"There were dangerous situations due to falling rocks and rocky terrain, but it seems they overcame it well and prevented further spread of fires."

The wildfires in regions of the Gyeongsangnam-do Province, saw an estimated 1-thousand-858 hectares of woodland burnt, equivalent to around 26-hundred football fields.

The fires in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province saw about 48-thousand hectares of woodland affected, equivalent to 80 percent of the size of Seoul.

At least 30 people died, including 26 in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

More than three thousand houses were completely burned down, and significant damage was also reported to 30 national heritage sites and 2-thousand agricultural facilities.

In order to extinguish the remaining fires, the military deployed 600 soldiers and 49 helicopters on Sunday, and is also providing medical and other assistance.

The government will now focus on helping those that have been affected by the massive wildfires.

This includes providing temporary housing and other assistance for those who have been displaced.

Also, the government will provide livelihood support, including lowering fees for health insurance premiums, and costs for cell phone and internet and medical aid.

Since the outbreak of the wildfires, approximately 10-thousand volunteers have participated in recovery and support for the displaced.

The government also announced on Sunday that it will push for a supplementary budget worth ten trillion won, or 6-point-8 billion U.S. dollars, which would also include budget for wildfire recovery.

Some 37 million dollars were also donated to disaster relief organizations in the hope that victims and the areas affected by the wildfires can recover quickly.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.