Saturday 01 / March / 2025
Tokyo: A wildfire in the northern Japanese prefecture of Iwate has forced the evacuation of more than a thousand people and killed at least one, with some 2,500 firefighters from around the country battling the blaze on Saturday, backed by 17 helicopters.
The fire is estimated to have spread across some 1,400 hectares (3,000 acres) in the forest of Ofunato, the largest area to have been burnt out since a 1992 wildfire in Kushiro, Hokkaido, a Fire and Disaster Management Agency spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Authorities in the municipality of Ofunato, some 500 km (310 miles) from the capital, Toyko, were reported to have told some 4,600 people to seek safe shelter elsewhere since the fire broke out on Wednesday.
As of Friday, more than 1,000 nearby residents were evacuated and more than 80 buildings damaged, the municipality said.
The blaze has caused power outages to more than 700 households in Ofunato and the neighboring village of Sanriku.
The train service connecting the two has been suspended for the entire day.
Ofunato is experiencing an unusually dry spell, with only 2.5 millimeters (0.1 inches) of rainfall falling so far this month.
The previous record low for February was 4.4 millimeters in 1967.
Two other fires were also burning Saturday, one in Yamanashi and another elsewhere in Iwate.
Last year was Japan's hottest since records began, as was the case in many countries as climate change fueled by greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity continues to cause a rise in temperatures around the world.
