Multiple wildfires ravaging the nation’s southern areas for days have caused 15 casualties and damaged about 14-thousand-700 hectares of forestland as of Tuesday morning. 

Acting Interior Minister Ko Ki-dong, the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, revealed the extent of the damage while presiding over a meeting at the government complex in Seoul. 

Ko said more than 33-hundred people are currently staying at temporary shelters, adding that strong winds, dry weather and smoke are impeding firefighting efforts.

The acting minister said the government will mobilize all available resources to put out the fires, including 110 helicopters and approximately 67-hundred personnel, pledging to prevent the fires from spreading to residential areas.

As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, authorities were battling wildfires in the counties of Sancheong and Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province; Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province; Ulju, Ulsan; and Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.

About 88 percent of the fires have been contained as of Tuesday morning.