Andong: Wildfires ravaging Republic of Korea’s southeastern region forced more residents to evacuate Tuesday, as firefighting authorities struggled to contain the rapidly spreading blazes that destroyed a centuries-old temple.

According to Lao News Agency, the fires that began in Sancheong County in the southeast on Friday have spread to nearby Uiseong, and were advancing to neighboring Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok, in the central area of North Gyeongsang Province, firefighting officials said.

The engulfing flames destroyed Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, an ancient temple built in A.D. 681 during the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935). National treasures stored in the temple had been relocated to other locations.