Japan deploys 1,400 firefighters to battle raging wildfires in the north

OTSUCHI, Japan - Japan has deployed 1,400 firefighters and 100 Self-Defence Force personnel to battle mountain blazes in the northern part of the country, as the fires, burning on April 26 for a fifth straight day, continue to threaten a picturesque coastal town.

Fanned by dry, windy weather, two more wildfires broke out elsewhere in the north on April 26 – one in Kitakata city and the other in Nagaoka, potentially stretching firefighting resources thin as local authorities send personnel to neighbouring areas.

The area consumed by the fires reached 1,373ha as at early morning on April 26, up 7 per cent from a day earlier.

Residential areas at risk

The fires threaten the 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.

The authorities expanded the scope of evacuation orders to 1,558 households or 3,257 residents by the evening of April 26, roughly a third of Otsuchi’s population.

“Although the Self-Defence Forces are fighting the fires from the sky (with helicopters), the dry weather and winds are helping the fires expand,” Otsuchi Mayor Kozo Hirano told a press conference.

Some residents used hoses to spray water onto their houses and surrounding foliage, hoping to keep the flames at bay.

“I am prepared to evacuate by my car at any time. Fire won’t be able to catch up to us since it does not move as fast as a tsunami,” said 67-year-old resident Shigeki Fujiwara.

Flames up in the mountain were visible from his home, and while his family has already been evacuated, he said he had chosen to stay behind because he was worried about the house.

Forecast for rain

The only casualty to date has been one minor injury when a person fell at an evacuation centre, said Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency on its website.

Rain is expected in some parts of Iwate prefecture’s southern coastal region, where Otsuchi is located, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The cause of the fires is unclear and under investigation.

While Japan has experienced relatively few wildfires compared with other parts of the world, climate change has increased their frequency, especially as the early spring months before the humid rainy season have been hot, dry and with winds that can whip up flames.
REUTERS