Evacuation orders were issued for the North Gyeongsang city of Andong and Cheongsong County, as the wildfire in nearby Uiseong County, which started on Saturday, has rapidly spread amid strong winds. 

According to Andong city officials, the Uiseong fire, which initially crossed into the city's Giran area the previous day, spread to Pungcheon and Iljik from around 5 p.m. Tuesday. 

The fire reached an area about ten kilometers away from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hahoe Folk Village and an evacuation order was issued for the village residents. 

Other cultural heritage sites, including the UNESCO-listed Byeongsanseowon Confucian Academy, are also expected to fall within the reach of the wildfire. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the province's landmark Buddhist temple of Gounsa, a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, was burned down.

In the latest development, the fire has also spread to the provincial county of Cheongsong, east of Uiseong, prompting an evacuation order for its residents.

Meanwhile, another wildfire in the South Gyeongsang provincial county of Sancheong has spread to an area surrounding Jirisan National Park, after it spread beyond the peak of nearby Gugok Mountain at around 5 p.m.

Visitors staying in Sancheong's Sicheon area and Jungsan valley as well as residents in multiple villages in Hadong County have been urged to evacuate.

Earlier, the Korea Forest Service raised the national forest fire crisis alert level to “severe,” the highest in its four-level system, and expanded the alert nationwide in response to escalating wildfire risks.

The alert was raised at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, as the agency emphasized the need for an all-out response following a series of large-scale wildfires in Sancheong; Uiseong; and Ulju County, Ulsan which remain uncontained, as well as a rising number of new fires across the country.

Under the "severe" alert, at least a quarter of relevant public officials and half of public service workers must be on standby.

Military shooting drills will be limited, and mountain access in restricted areas is banned.

Officials say high temperatures, dry weather and strong winds are fueling simultaneous wildfires nationwide.