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 the picturesque coastal town of Otsuchi. The area consumed by the fires reached 1,373 hectares (3,393 acres) as of early Sunday morning, marking a 7 percent increase from a day earlier.
Threat to Otsuchi
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.
Official Statements
“Although the Self-Defense 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. One Otsuchi resident expressed concern about the damage the wildfire could inflict. “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.
Casualties and Weather
The only casualty to date has been one minor injury suffered when a person fell at an evacuation center, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported. No rain is expected in the region on Sunday or Monday, but a brief shower is forecast for Tuesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The cause of the fires remains unclear and is under investigation.
