Japanese authorities have deployed 1,400 firefighters and dozens of troops to battle forest fires in the northern part of the country, which have now entered their fifth day and threaten residential areas in the coastal city of Ocuuchi.
The blazes, which first ignited on Wednesday in a mountainous region of Iwate Prefecture, have since spread toward populated zones, prompting evacuation orders for 3,257 residents — roughly one-third of Ocuuchi’s population.
So far, only one injury has been reported: a person who fell at an evacuation center. No deaths have been confirmed.
According to local officials, the fire near Ocuuchi has burned approximately 1,373 hectares of land — a seven percent increase from Saturday’s figures. Two separate fire fronts are now active, with one posing a direct risk to urban neighborhoods.
Despite efforts from ground crews and aerial support using helicopters to drop water, dry conditions and strong winds continue to fuel the flames, complicating containment efforts.
“The fire won’t catch us because it’s not moving as fast as a tsunami,” said 67-year-old Shigeki Fudijiwara, whose family evacuated Ocuuchi but who remained behind over concerns for his home. He referenced the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the region, noting that while the area experienced tsunami damage a decade ago, it had not seen wildfires of this scale since.
Mayor Kozo Hirano of Ocuuchi warned that even though aerial firefighting operations are underway, the combination of parched terrain and gusty winds is accelerating the spread. Some residents have been seen watering their properties and lawns in a bid to slow the advance of the flames.
Meteorologists indicate that rainfall is not expected in the affected areas in the coming days, prolonging the risk.
Meanwhile, due to the dry weather and wind, two additional fires broke out on Thursday in southwestern Japan — one in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, and another in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture — raising concerns about the potential strain on firefighting resources as crews are dispatched across regions.
