Japan battles largest wildfire in 3 decades, 1 dead, over thousand evacuated

More than a thousand people had to be evacuated after Japan witnessed the largest wildfire in more than three decades. According to Kyoto News, the flames have been estimated to have spread over 1,200 hectares of land in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate. According to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the fire first broke out on Wednesday, and the authorities are still working to control the flame in the region.

“We’re still examining the size of the affected area, but it is the biggest since the 1992 wildfire [in Kushiro, Hokkaido],” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. Around 1,030 hectares of land were burned, the last time Japan witnessed a wildfire of this scale. Soon after fire erupted in the region, around 1,700 firefighters were mobilised from across the country to deal with the situation.

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One died in the wildfire, the cause remains unknown

According to NHK, local police found the body of one person who had been burned in the blaze. Apart from this, 1,000 nearby residents have been evacuated, and more than 80 buildings had been damaged as of Friday. As the authorities try to take control of the fire, the cause of the blaze remains unknown.

As per the report, two other fires were raging on Saturday. One of them was in Yamanashi, and another was elsewhere in Iwate. Japan is accustomed to wildfires every year. There were about 1,300 wildfires across Japan in 2023. These fires were burning between the period of February to April when the air in the region dries out and the wind picks up. However, the government data suggests that the number of wildfires has declined since the peak in the 1970s.

Ofunato has seen only 2.5mm (0.1 inches) of rain in February – far below the previous record low for February of 4.4mm in 1967. Last year, Japan recorded the hottest temperature in its record, mirroring other countries as ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions fuel the climate crisis.

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With inputs from AFP.