This aerial view shows a village on fire in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. The region is covered in soot and ash and the sky is gray. Yonhap

Footage of a small village in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, evokes the atmosphere of a dystopian film. Flames, whipped up by strong winds, flicker sporadically across the charred remnants of the buildings. The area is blanketed in soot and ash beneath a light gray sky.

Raging wildfires have torn through the nation, leaving devastation and fear as the blazes continue. Dozens of people have been found dead, with many others injured, as the monstrous blazes continue to burn out of control despite firefighters' desperate efforts to contain them.

The fires first ignited on Friday in the rural southeastern county of Sancheong. By early Tuesday, firefighters had managed to contain 90 percent of the flames, but progress stalled due to dry winds. Meanwhile, another blaze that erupted in Uiseong on Saturday led to catastrophic consequences. The fire rapidly spread to neighboring cities and counties, including Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok, burning forests, homes, and even cultural heritage sites to ashes. Tens of thousands of residents were forced to evacuate as authorities issued emergency alerts. Countless people were displaced, their homes completely destroyed. Over 36,000 hectares of land and forests have been burned, wiping out entire ecosystems.

As the flames advanced, the Ministry of Justice ordered the emergency transfer of 3,500 inmates from two prisons in Cheongsong and Andong to ensure their safety. Casualties continue to rise, and with dry vegetation and strong winds fueling the blazes, containment has remained a daunting challenge.

Beyond the physical destruction, the wildfires have left a deep wound on the nation. The centuries-old Goun Temple in Uiseong County was reduced to ruins. However, amid the devastation, a glimmer of relief emerged — two UNESCO World Heritage sites, Andong Folk Village and Byeongsan Seowon, narrowly escaped destruction. On Tuesday, the flames were within 10 kilometers of these historic landmarks, but a shift in wind direction ultimately spared them.

The wildfires also exposed alarming drawbacks in fire safety awareness. Investigations revealed that the blazes originated from human negligence. In Sancheong, a farmer inadvertently sparked the inferno while using a weed trimmer to clear his land. In Uiseong, a visitor caused the disaster after setting fire to waste while conducting a memorial service near a family tomb. Dry vegetation exacerbated the spread, turning small accidents into unstoppable catastrophes.

It is heartbreaking to acknowledge that these devastating wildfires — causing irreversible damage to communities, ecosystems and centuries-old cultural heritage — were the result of careless human actions. As the nation grapples with the destruction, urgent measures must be taken to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Watching the raging wildfires on television is distressing enough. But what's even more devastating is how the disaster has further deepened the divide in a nation already fractured over the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

News of the wildfires broke over the weekend, coinciding with mass protests in Seoul, where hundreds of thousands of pro- and anti-Yoon demonstrators took to the streets. As the Constitutional Court prepares to deliver its verdict on President Yoon — who has been suspended since December following his impeachment by the National Assembly — both sides sought to amplify their voices in a high-stakes political showdown. While the court has yet to announce a ruling date, a decision is imminent.

Amid the chaos, wild conspiracy theories have emerged, with extremists on both sides exploiting the tragedy for political gain. Some anti-Yoon activists have absurdly claimed that the fires were linked to shamanistic rituals allegedly performed by first lady Kim Keon Hee to rid her husband of negative energy. Meanwhile, far-right activists have floated baseless accusations that North Korean sympathizers or Chinese spies deliberately set the fires to destabilize South Korea. On social media, a widely shared but entirely fabricated story falsely claims that a Chinese man was responsible for the wildfires. This misinformation stems from the misleading combination of two unrelated news reports — one about a Chinese student arrested in February for multiple attempted arsons in Ulsan, and another about 3,287 hectares of burned land that has no connection to China.

The spread of fake news and the weaponization of baseless rumors only deepens the nation's political divide. South Korea is already at a crossroads, and using a national tragedy as a tool for partisan manipulation does nothing but fracture the country further.

Now is the time for unity. Instead of fueling division, the nation must come together, set aside political battles and focus on extinguishing the fires — both literal and figurative — and heal the wounds they have left behind.