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Busan Metropolitan City Holds Coordination Meeting to Prepare for Large-Scale Wildfires in Spring 2026

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Busan Metropolitan City (Director of the Green Forest City Bureau, Ahn Cheol-su) announced that it held a “Coordination Meeting for Establishing Prevention and Response Measures for Large-Scale Wildfires in Spring 2026” at 4 p.m. on the 15th floor of City Hall’s Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters yesterday (December 9).

The meeting was convened to report on the major wildfire prevention achievements of 2025 and to discuss wildfire prevention measures for 2026 in cooperation with related organizations.

A total of 23 wildfire response officials from relevant agencies attended the meeting, including representatives from Busan Metropolitan City, the wildfire departments of 15 districts and counties, the Fire & Disaster Headquarters, military units, the Korea Meteorological Administration, and Busan Infrastructure Corporation.

Busan Metropolitan City plans to prioritize the following to prevent wildfires: strengthening wildfire prevention and early response, building cooperative systems among related agencies, and utilizing advanced information and communications technology (ICT) equipment for wildfire suppression.

To establish enhanced early-response measures and ensure rapid and effective response in the event of a wildfire, the City will introduce a wildfire unmanned monitoring system and expand core wildfire response infrastructure by more than twofold from 2026 through 2030 to prepare for large-scale incidents.

In addition, Busan will operate rapid response teams in the 15 districts and counties to establish a cooperative system across the entire wildfire response process—from wildfire reporting and situation dissemination to resident evacuation and full extinguishment. The system also includes establishing an early suppression framework that enables the rapid deployment of leased helicopters within the golden time of 30 minutes following ignition.

Ahn Cheol-su, Director of the Green Forest City Bureau, stated, “There have been cases in which situation reports were delayed during wildfire events. It is therefore essential to assign wildfire lookout personnel to elevated observation points near vulnerable areas to ensure prompt reporting.” He added, “We request that districts and counties coordinate closely with the on-site command center of the fire stations, assess the situation accurately, and report swiftly.”

He further emphasized, “Safety must always come first during wildfire suppression operations. Please exercise extreme caution in hazardous sections such as areas prone to falling rocks, and ensure that protective gear—including suppression suits and smoke masks—is fully secured before engaging in suppression activities.”