Japan still struggling to contain biggest wildfire in half a century

TOKYO – Firefighters are struggling to contain a week-long wildfire on Japan’s north-eastern coast that has spread to become the worst the country has seen in half a century.

The blaze near Ofunato in Iwate prefecture had engulfed 2,600ha as at March 4 – close to half the area of Manhattan – and was continuing to grow, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, making it the biggest fire since 1975.

Residents have been instructed to evacuate, as more than 2,000 firefighters use helicopters and hoses to douse the flames approaching urban centres.

The mountainous terrain makes it hard for fire trucks to access the area, said local broadcaster NHK. One person has died and Iwate’s governor has requested assistance from neighbouring prefectures, the fire agency said.

Wildfires – increasingly common in dry regions like Australia, southern Europe, and the western US – are unusual for Japan, an island nation with a humid climate. But unseasonable hotter and drier weather brought on by climate change may be making the country more vulnerable by leaving forests parched.

Ofunato and other areas along Japan’s north-eastern coast facing the Pacific Ocean saw less than normal precipitation during February, the nation’s weather agency said in a monthly report. Ofunato had 20mm of rain in January, less than half the 30-year average of 51.3mm, and 2.5mm in February, just 6 per cent of the long-term average. Japan’s weather agency has had a dry weather warning in place for the city since Feb 18.

Other parts of Japan have also seen wildfires in the last month. A fire that broke out on Feb 28 in Nagano prefecture has been put out, and the authorities on March 3 managed to gain control of another fire in Yamanashi prefecture that began on Feb 26.

The Iwate region