Huge fire in northern Japan, threatening a city that has gone through a great tragedy before
Japan has mobilized 1,400 firefighters and 100 paramilitary to fight the mountain fires in the north of the country, which have been burning for five days and threaten a picturesque coastal town, reports Reuters.
The area affected by the fires reached 1,373 hectares on Sunday morning, up 7% from the previous day.
Fires are threatening residential neighborhoods in Otsuchi on the Pacific coast — a city that lost nearly a tenth of its population in one of Japan's worst disasters, the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
🚨BIG: Wildfires rage in Japan
Over 5,000 evacuated as flames spread rapidly.
Authorities warn the situation remains critical#Japan #Wildfire #Breaking pic.twitter.com/6d8dbVvVAg— thenexgentimes (@thenexgentimes) April 25, 2026
Evacuation orders were issued for 1,541 households with 3,233 residents, about a third of Otsuchi's population.
“Although the Defense Forces are fighting the fires from the air (with helicopters), dry weather and winds are helping the fire spread,” Otsuchi Mayor Kozo Hirano told a news conference.
An Otsuchi resident said he was worried about the damage the fire could cause.
“Fire burns everything. In the event of a tsunami, there might be something left after the destruction,” said Yoshinori Komatsu, 74, as he watched Defense Force helicopters drop water on the fires in the distance.
Wildfires burning for four days in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, forced over 3,000 residents to evacuate as blazes near homes, with no rain forecast for a week raising fears the emergency could worsen https://t.co/wEwmzSGkqm pic.twitter.com/F1ctrRj9LG
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 25, 2026
The only casualty recorded so far was a person who suffered a minor injury after falling in an evacuation center, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
No rain is expected in the region on Sunday or Monday, but a brief shower is expected on Tuesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The cause of the fires is still unknown and is being investigated by the authorities.
