The death toll from the massive wildfires in the country’s southeastern Gyeongsang region rose to 26 on Thursday.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said that as of 6 a.m. Thursday, 26 people were dead, while eight were seriously injured and 22 suffered minor injuries. 

North Gyeongsang Province reported 22 deaths, and two occurred in South Gyeongsang Province.

As of 5 a.m., the fires had forced the evacuation of more than 37-thousand residents, including some 30-thousand in Uiseong and Andong alone.

About 16-thousand-700 residents remain in temporary shelters. 

The wildfires, which have been raging for days, are estimated to have destroyed about 36-thousand hectares of forestland as of 5 a.m., making them the country’s most devastating on record.

Previously, the wildfires that burned 23-thousand-794 hectares of forestland along the east coast in 2000 were considered the worst in the nation’s history.