OFUNATO (AFP) – Japan battled its worst wildfire in half a century yesterday in a region hit by record-low rainfall, as wet weather gave hope for some relief.
The blaze around the northern city of Ofunato in the Iwate region has raged for more than a week, killing one person and forcing nearly 4,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
It has engulfed about 2,900 hectares – around half the size of Manhattan – making it the largest wildfire since at least 1975, when 2,700 hectares burnt in Hokkaido.
“The fire was like nothing I’ve seen before. It was towering and spreading fast,” said Mitsuo Otsubo, 85, who fled his home to stay with a relative.
“It didn’t rain or snow at all this year… Thank goodness it rained today though. I can only hope it will help contain the situation,” the seaweed and scallop farmer told AFP.
An 86-year-old woman, who declined to be identified, said she had seen “a huge amount of smoke rising up and then the fire”.
“The wind was really strong and I was so stunned that my pulse became erratic,” she said.
Columns of white smoke billowed from a mountain through the rain and snow yesterday, AFP reporters saw. More wet weather was forecast through Thursday. “Firefighters have been working on the ground through the night,” a city official told AFP yesterday.
“We are hoping that snow, which started to fall this morning, will help,” he said. At least 84 buildings are believed to have been damaged, although details are still being assessed, according to the fire agency. Almost 4,000 people had complied with orders to evacuate by late on Tuesday.
