Japan deploys 1,400 firefighters as wildfires rage in the north
Blazes force mass evacuations and threaten coastal town of Otsuchi
Otsuchi, Japan: Japan has deployed 1,400 firefighters and 100 Self-Defense Force personnel to battle mountain blazes in the northern part of the country, with the fires now burning for a fifth straight day and continuing to threaten a picturesque coastal town.
The area consumed by the fires reached 1,373 hectares (3,393 acres) as of early Sunday morning, up 7% from a day earlier.
The fires threaten residential districts of Otsuchi on the Pacific coast, a town that lost nearly a tenth of its population in one of Japan’s worst disasters, the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Evacuation orders are in place for 1,541 households, or 3,233 residents, roughly a third of Otsuchi’s population.
“Although the Self-Defense Forces are fighting the fires from the air with helicopters, the dry weather and winds are helping the fires expand,” Otsuchi Mayor Kozo Hirano told a press conference.
One resident said he was worried about the damage the wildfire could cause.
“A fire burns everything down. With a tsunami, you might have something left after the destruction,” said Yoshinori Komatsu, 74, as he watched Self-Defense Force helicopters dump water over fires in the distance.
The only casualty reported so far was a minor injury suffered when a person fell at an evacuation centre, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
No rain is expected in the region on Sunday or Monday, though a brief shower is forecast on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The cause of the fires remains unclear and is under investigation.