(LEAD) Han calls for all-out efforts to evacuate residents from wildfire-hit areas

▲ Acting President Han Duck-soo (L) presides over an emergency meeting on the wildfires in the country's southeastern region at the central government complex in Seoul, on March 25, 2025, in this photo provided by Han's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) acting president-wildfires

(LEAD) Han calls for all-out efforts to evacuate residents from wildfire-hit areas

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; ADDS details in last para)

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- Acting President Han Duck-soo instructed regional governments Tuesday to make all-out efforts to evacuate residents from wildfire-hit areas in the country's southeast, his office said.

His instruction came as the wildfires that began in Sancheong County in the southeast on Friday are spreading rapidly to neighboring regions amid strong, dry winds, increasing the risk of human casualties as the flames reached Andong city and Cheongsong County.

Han called for local governments to "mobilize all available administrative resources to ensure residents in the affected areas can quickly move to safe locations," his office said.

He ordered relevant authorities, including the Korea Forest Service, the National Fire Agency and the defense ministry, to deploy all equipment and personnel to contain the wildfires as quickly as possible.

Han also called for the "thorough preparation of firefighting personnel and equipment," while prioritizing the safety of the firefighting crews and maintaining control to prevent any safety accidents, his office said.

Hours later, Han visited the main situation room of the central disaster control headquarters at the interior ministry in Seoul to check government responses and details of the damage from the fires so far, his office said.

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