Richard Kim and Hyunjung Kim
BBC Korean

The main reason this wildfire spread so rapidly was the strong winds at the beginning. In the early stages of the fire, gusts reached up to 15 metres per second, leading to frequent occurrences of fire spotting.

Fire spotting refers to embers being carried by the wind for tens to hundreds of meters, or even over 2km, igniting new fires in distant locations.

North Gyeongsang Province, where this wildfire occurred, also contains South Korea’s largest concentration of pine forests, which are particularly vulnerable to wildfires.

Image source, Getty Images

“Pine trees are beneficial in that they grow well even in dry areas, establishing themselves first and creating dense forests that allow other trees to thrive,” said Lee Byung-Doo, head of the Forest Disaster and Environment Research Division at the National Institute of Forest Science.

Lee also noted, however, that “because pine trees contain resin, when a wildfire occurs the resin acts like fuel, causing the fire to burn more intensely and for a longer duration”.

Furthermore, pine trees retain their leaves throughout winter, making them susceptible to ‘crown fires’—wildfires that spread by igniting the dense canopy of branches and leaves. This has contributed to the rapid and extensive spread of the flames over the past week.