"Pine trees contain resin, which acts like oil, intensifying fires when ignited. This resin causes wildfires to burn faster, stronger, and longer," said Lee Byung-doo from the National Institute of Forest Science in Seoul. Andong, one of the worst-hit cities, is known for its tranquil pine forests.

Wildfires in South Korea are the largest and deadliest on record, having burned more forest and killed more people than any previous blaze, officials said yesterday, as the death toll reached 27.

Wildfires that have killed 27 people and continue to spread in South Korea are the largest and deadliest on record in the country, officials say. More than a dozen fires have forced some 37,000 people to flee, with large parts of the southeast scorched.