Aerial photo taken on March 31, 2020 shows the scene of forest fire in Xichang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province. (WANG XI / XINHUA)

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping has demanded resolute efforts to curb the frequent occurrence of accidents and disasters and ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Nineteen people died while battling the forest fire, which started on Monday afternoon

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, gave the instruction in response to a forest fire in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

ALSO READ: Forest fire in SW China starts again

Nineteen people died while battling the forest fire, which started on Monday afternoon.

The victims include 18 firefighters and a local forest farmworker who led the way for the firefighters. They were trapped in the fire due to a sudden change in the wind direction.

Xi urged all-out efforts to put out the fire and prevent secondary disasters without endangering the firefighters' safety.

Armed police forces work to put out a blaze at Lushan Mountain in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province, on March 31, 2020. (LI JIEYI / CHINADAILY.COM.CN)

He demanded a high degree of attention to the prominent risks of fires and floods at this season, noting that several provinces had recently reported forest fires or safety accidents.

Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should thoroughly screen the risks of fires, landslides and workplace hazards while coordinating epidemic control and work resumption, Xi noted.

Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, stressed learning lessons from the recent occurrence of multiple forest fires and enhancing the monitoring and early warning systems to curb big forest fires from happening.

READ MORE: Strong wind rekindles forest fire in Sichuan

The fire started on a local farm at 3:51 pm Monday and quickly spread to nearby mountains due to strong winds, according to the information office of the city of Xichang.

As of midnight on Monday, the burned area had exceeded 1,000 hectares and around 80 hectares of forest were destroyed.

So far, a total of 2,044 people have been dispatched to put out the fire. Another 174 fire engines and six remote water supply systems have been mobilized from other cities in the province to join the rescue operation.

Li Jun, secretary of Xichang's Party committee, said the city had seen no rain for 20 consecutive days and the highest temperature rose to 31.2 degrees Celsius on Monday with a wind speed of up to 20 meters per second. All the factors contributed to the rapid development of the fire.

The fire broke out near a liquefied petroleum gas storage and distribution station, two gas stations, four schools, two cultural heritage sites and the city's largest warehouse. A total of 18,152 people in the neighboring three towns were evacuated.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a working group and more back-up firefighters to Sichuan. Local authorities are evacuating residents and taking measures to protect nearby schools, gas stations and other key sites and facilities.