This image shows houses burned down in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, March 29, after massive wildfires. Yonhap

Wildfires reignited in the southeastern part of the country overnight Saturday before firefighters brought them back under control, according to firefighting and regional authorities.

An official with Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said reports of smoke in Andong, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, had started coming in at around 10 p.m. Friday night. Forestry officials believe the fire reignited around 3 a.m. Saturday.

The Korea Expressway Corp. blocked off a section of a nearby highway at 5 a.m. and reopened it just before 9 a.m. With vehicles unable to reach the mountainous areas, 11 helicopters were called in to contain the fire.

Officials said fires had also restarted in other parts of the province, including Euiseong, just south of Andong.

Regional officials called in firefighting helicopters, along with firefighters and other personnel, to bring the main body of the fires under control.

As of the afternoon, 55 helicopters and 5,500 personnel had been on duty in the southeast region, including Euiseong, Andong and Cheongsong, putting out live embers and watching for any remaining torches.

"As of now, there are no reignited wildfires in the North Gyeongsang region," a regional official said, adding, however, that it would take several days to completely extinguish remaining embers.

Separately, firefighters launched overnight operations at nearby Mount Jiri, where steep slopes and a lack of paths made access difficult for fire trucks and personnel, and blazes were still sending up flames.

Villagers extinguish embers on a hill in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, March 29, to prevent the forest fire from rekindling. Yonhap

After sunset, all helicopters were pulled off, but nearly 1,000 firefighters and forestry officials, along with some 200 pieces of equipment, will work through the night to contain the fire, officials said.

The Korea Forest Service earlier announced wildfires in North Gyeongsang had been fully brought under control as of 5 p.m. Friday after killing or injuring dozens of people and forcing thousands of others to flee.

About 48,000 hectares of woodland, equivalent to some 80 percent of the size of Seoul, have been scorched in the worst wildfire disaster ever in South Korea, according to the forestry agency.

Of them, nearly 13,000 ha were in Euiseong, and nearly 10,000 were in Andong.

The fire also damaged 2,996 houses and more than 1,000 agricultural facilities, according to an official estimate.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the death toll from the fires hit 30 on Saturday, up two from the previous day, along with 45 injuries as of 8 p.m. It said 6,885 people from 4,193 households had yet to return home since evacuating.

It added that some 55.4 billion won (US$37.7 million) had been collected in donations through relief organizations.

Acting President Han Duck-soo said the government will provide "full administrative and financial support" for displaced people until they return to normalcy.

Presiding over a meeting in Seoul on the response to the wildfires, Han also urged firefighting authorities to keep a close eye on embers.

"It's more important than anything to ensure there won't be a recurrence of such tragedy," Han said. "We need to take a comprehensive review of the government's response system and see if we're prepared for major wildfires amid rapid climate change."

The interior ministry plans to offer 230 million won to back relief efforts in North Gyeongsang. (Yonhap)

Smoke rises from a wildfire on a mountain in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, March 29. Yonhap