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Busan Metropolitan City Mobilizes Full Response, Conducts On-Site Inspection of Wildfire Suppression in Gijang-gun

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□ Mayor Park Heong-joon of Busan Metropolitan City visited the wildfire suppression site in Gijang-gun this morning (Jan. 22) at 08:00 to check the situation, urge swift containment, and encourage personnel engaged in suppression efforts.
○ The wildfire is believed to have spread when a fire that broke out at around 19:45 yesterday (Jan. 21) at a building materials plant in Gijang-gun extended to a nearby mountain area. Seong Heui-yeob, Vice Mayor for Future Innovation, remained on site until 04:00 with relevant agencies including the Korea Forest Service, Gijang-gun, and the fire service, devoting every effort to prevent further spread and suppress the fire.

○ After receiving a briefing on the suppression status at the on-site integrated support headquarters in Gijang-gun at 08:00 this morning, Mayor Park inspected the scene and urged, “Busan Metropolitan City, the Korea Forest Service, Gijang-gun, the fire service, and other relevant agencies must cooperate and mobilize all available equipment and personnel to respond with full force,” while also encouraging those deployed to the suppression operation.

□ Through the joint all-out response by Busan Metropolitan City and the fire service, the Korea Forest Service, military and police, and local governments, the containment rate reached approximately 90% as of 09:00 today (Jan. 22), and the main fire was declared contained at 10:21.
○ Immediately after the wildfire broke out, Busan Metropolitan City convened a situation assessment meeting and established an integrated on-site command headquarters, deploying 15 helicopters, 512 personnel, and 95 units of equipment to swiftly conclude suppression operations. Efforts are currently focused on extinguishing remaining embers.

○ Although freezing temperatures caused fire hoses to freeze, making nighttime operations difficult, the response team built firebreaks centered on areas at risk of further spread and implemented tailored strategies based on weather conditions and terrain, including concentrated helicopter deployment and dispersed placement of personnel.

○ In particular, with resident safety as the top priority, the city carried out precautionary evacuations of guests staying at nearby resorts and users of campgrounds and related facilities to prevent casualties.

□ Mayor Park stated, “With dry weather continuing recently, the risk is high that a wildfire could spread into a large-scale wildfire once it occurs. Busan also faces a heightened wildfire risk due to its geographical characteristics, so thorough preparedness is essential.” He added, “I ask residents to remain vigilant and actively participate in wildfire prevention by strictly observing safety rules, including prohibitions on carrying open-flame items and refraining from burning activities near forested areas.”