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More people ordered to evacuate as northeast Japan wildfire spreads
Since the wildfire began Wednesday, at least one person has died, and more than 80 homes have burned, local authorities said.
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A Japan Self-Defense Force aircraft (top center) sprays water over hilltops as officials continue to fight a wildfire near the city of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, Japan on Feb. 28, 2025. Military helicopters have been mobilized to try and douse the flames raging in forested areas of Ofunato. (AFP/Jiji Press)
O
ver a hundred more households in northeastern Japan were told to evacuate on Saturday as a wildfire that has been burning for four days continued to spread.
The Iwate Prefecture government issued a new order for 333 people from 141 homes to evacuate, adding to the more than 4,000 residents already told to abandon their homes.
Since the wildfire began Wednesday, at least one person has died, and more than 80 homes have burned, local authorities said.
The fire, which has burned some 1,200 hectares of land in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture since Wednesday, has now engulfed 1,400 hectares, it said.
The forest fire is the largest Japan has seen since the late 1980s, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. It has surpassed the previous record of 1,030 hectares in Kushiro, Hokkaido, set in 1992, making it the largest area affected by a forest fire since the Heisei era, which lasted from 1989 through 2019.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has stepped up efforts to limit the damage.
The number of helicopters deployed to fight the fire has risen to more than 15, including a doubling of the larger SDF aircraft, which are better equipped for water drops.
The agency under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also requested emergency assistance from local governments, including Gunma, Saitama and Tokyo, bringing the number of responding prefectures to more than 10.
