Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance, issued an urgent directive regarding the wildfire spreading in the Sichon-myeon area of Sancheong County, Gyeongnam, saying, "Do your best to extinguish it early."
On the 21st, Acting President Choi instructed the Korea Forest Service to "do your best to mobilize all available equipment and personnel in cooperation with local governments, the Fire Agency, and the Ministry of National Defense to achieve early extinguishment of the wildfire."
Acting President Choi emphasized, "Since the wildfire is spreading rapidly, ensure the safety of residents to prevent casualties," and said, "Given that helicopters cannot be deployed due to sunset, focus on ground suppression while ensuring the safety of suppression personnel, and thoroughly prepare for helicopter deployment immediately after sunrise."
He also ordered the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to "cooperate with the Korean National Police Agency and local governments to quickly communicate the disaster situation to nearby residents and to do your best in safety management such as controlling hikers."
The forestry authorities reported that around 3:26 p.m. that day, they dispatched 20 helicopters, 71 vehicles, and 304 firefighting personnel to extinguish the fire, which started in a mountain area of Sichon-myeon, Sancheong County, Gyeongnam. However, as the wildfire spread, a "level 3 wildfire alert" was issued at 6:40 p.m.