THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS JAPAN’S WORST WILDFIRE IN HALF A CENTURY CONTINUES UNABATED

Tue 04 March 2025:

Around 2,000 firefighters have been working from the air and ground to put out Japan’s worst wildfire in half a century in the northeastern Iwate prefecture, local media reported on Tuesday.

The wildfire has burned around 2,600 hectares as of Tuesday morning, left one person dead, and forced nearly 4,000 people to evacuate out of the 4,600 advised to seek shelter by the authorities, according to the local English daily The Japan Times.

The raging fire in Ofunato city of Iwate has been going on for six days consuming over seven times the area of New York’s Central Park by Tuesday.

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Japan has not experienced a wildfire at this magnitude since 1975, when 2,700 hectares burned in Kushiro in the Hokkaido region.

“There is little concern that the fire will reach the (more densely populated) city area,” a city official was quoted as saying, adding that authorities were doing their best to put it out.

The region had a record low rainfall this season and last summer was also the East Asian nation’s hottest on record.

More than 80 buildings are estimated to have been damaged so far, although FDMA noted that details are still being assessed.

“Although it is inevitable that the fire will spread to some extent, we will take all possible measures to ensure there will be no impact on people’s homes,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in parliament.

Thousands of firefighters from 14 prefectures, including Tokyo, have been dispatched to fight the fires. At least 16 helicopters are also being used, with images showing the aircraft dumping water onto the smouldering hills.

Like many other countries, Japan in 2024 recorded its hottest year since records began.

It is difficult to know if climate change has caused or worsened specific fires, because other factors – such as changes to the way land is used – are also relevant.

However, the IPCC says climate change is making the weather conditions needed for wildfires to spread more likely.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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