"24-Hour Emergency Response System Activated"... Pohang Mayor Lee Kangdeok Makes All-Out Efforts to Prevent Wildfire Damage

Establishment of Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, 24-Hour Surveillance System in Cooperation with Gyeongbuk Province and Korea Forest Service
Emphasis on Importance of Accurate Information Collection and Sharing Through Collaboration with Military Units, Fire Departments, and Related Agencies

Pohang City convened an emergency meeting on wildfire response presided over by Mayor Lee Kangdeok on the 26th, as the wildfire that started in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province on the 22nd rapidly spread through nearby Andong and Cheongsong to parts of Yeongdeok. The city launched an all-out effort to prevent wildfire damage.

On the 26th, Mayor Kangdeok Lee of Pohang held an emergency meeting to respond to the wildfire. Photo by Pohang City

As signs of the wildfire spreading to the Cheongsong area appeared on the night of the 25th, the city sent out emergency disaster text alerts to areas at risk and issued a preemptive evacuation order for residents in Jukjang-myeon, Gibuk-myeon, and Songra-myeon in Buk-gu, where direct and indirect damage was anticipated. Currently, around 130 residents have been evacuated.

Before the meeting, Mayor Lee Kangdeok visited the resident evacuation centers set up at the Jukjang-myeon Sports Center and the Sangok Senior Welfare Center in the early hours of the 26th to personally inspect the operation of the shelters and the wildfire response situation, and to comfort the evacuated residents.

Lee Gangdeok, mayor of Pohang, visiting the community shelter set up at Jukjangmyeon Sports Center. Photo by Pohang City

At the subsequent meeting, Mayor Lee emphasized that the top priority is to prevent casualties through preemptive evacuation of residents, and called for close cooperation and information sharing with related agencies such as fire and police departments to ensure a seamless 24-hour response. He also ordered the wildfire prevention and suppression team to remain on emergency standby in preparation for further spread.

In particular, the city is operating the Wildfire Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and mobilizing all available personnel, including suppression teams, wildfire monitors, voluntary disaster response teams, and public officials, to carry out active wildfire prevention activities. As illegal burning is cited as one of the main causes of wildfires, crackdowns have been intensified and strict penalties will be imposed upon detection.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok stated, "It is important to collect accurate information to predict the path of the wildfire in advance, so that we can preemptively evacuate residents and deploy firefighting equipment and personnel ahead of time. We will mobilize all available personnel and equipment to maintain a 24-hour response system and make every effort to prevent wildfires."

Pohang City has also postponed or canceled major events, including the groundbreaking ceremony for the sports park for recreational athletes scheduled for the afternoon of that day, the agreement ceremony for the Rural Agreement contest hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs planned for the 27th, and the National Naeyeonsan Hiking Competition scheduled for the 30th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.