UISEONG: Residents of a Unesco-listed village were ordered to evacuate while a historic Buddhist temple was burned to the ground on Tuesday as South Korea scrambled to contain worsening wildfires.

Blazes tearing across the country’s southeast have killed four people, with authorities transferring thousands of prisoners and residents as dry windy weather hampers efforts to contain more than a dozen different fires which broke out over the weekend. The fires are collectively the third largest in South Korea’s history, with acting Interior and Safety Minister Ko Ki-dong saying 14,694 hectares had been affected early Tuesday.

“Strong winds, dry weather, and haze are hampering firefighting efforts,” Ko told a disaster and safety meeting.

The government has declared a state of emergency in four regions. “The wind was so strong that I couldn’t stand still,” said evacuated Andong resident Kwon So-han. “The fire came from the mountain and fell on my house. Nothing could be done,” the 79-year-old said.

Authorities in Andong issued an emergency alert late Tuesday to residents of the historic Hahoe Folk Village — a Unesco-listed world heritage site popular with tourists — as the blaze drew closer.

“The Uiseong Angye wildfire is moving in the direction” of that area, the alert said. “Residents are requested to evacuate immediately.” In Uiseong, agency reporters saw the sky full of smoke and haze, with the Korea Forest Service saying that the containment rate for the fire in that area had decreased from 60 to 55 per cent on Tuesday. Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025