Forest fires continued to devour wilderness and threaten communities in three mountainous prefectures on March 1 as authorities ordered more areas to evacuate.

In Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, officials estimated the flames had consumed 1,400 hectares as of 6 a.m. that day.

It is the worst forest fire in Japan since 2002. The fire is now approaching urban areas and evacuation centers, officials said.

On March 1, three areas in the city’s Sanrikucho Okirai district were ordered to evacuate.

Evacuation orders were issued the day before for six areas in Akasakicho district. 

A total of 1,896 households and 4,596 people were ordered to evacuate. 

As of 7 a.m., authorities announced that 1,033 residents had taken up temporary residence in 11 evacuation centers in the city.

The anxiety of residents is growing by the day.

‘THOUGHT I’D BE HOME SOON’

“When I left home, I thought I would be able to return in a day or two, so I didn’t bring anything with me,” said a 70-year-old woman who fled to an evacuation center set up at the Okirai Elementary School.

The woman’s home is in Ryori, near the fire zone.

She had been staying with a relative in the Kamihorei area since Feb. 26, but on the morning of March 1, an evacuation order was issued to that area as well.

A man in his 70s evacuated from the Ohora area of the city’s Akasakicho district to the Ofunato Junior High School, which also serves as an evacuation center.

On the evening of Feb. 28, he stood in the school grounds and gazed at the smoke rising from the fire in the mountains.

“The source of the fire is far from my house,” he said. “I didn’t think it will get that far.”

The man said his house was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Afterward, he moved to higher ground in the Ohora area.

“I thought I was safe because it’s a tsunami-free zone, but now there’s a fire,” he said. “I think my house is OK, but I’m anxious.”

“Firefighting efforts have been stepped up considerably, but the situation has not yet been brought under control,” Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami told a news conference on March 1.

“Evacuations have taken place over the past three to four days, and I think (the evacuees) are experiencing changes in their physical condition. I would like to inform the staff and hope that (the evacuees) will lead as stable a life as possible in the evacuation center.” 

NO LETUP ELSEWHERE

Forest fires have broken out in many areas in Japan.

A blaze that broke out Feb. 26 in the Saruhashimachi Ozawa district in Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, is still raging.

As firefighting activities resumed on the morning of March 1, officials estimated that 120 hectares of forest, as well as a vacant house, had been destroyed as of 12:30 p.m. on March 1.

No injuries have been reported.

Also on March 1, two Self-Defense Forces aircraft and a helicopter used for such emergencies by the Yamanashi prefectural government were engaged in firefighting activities from the air.

Approximately 90 firefighters and fire brigade members were dispatched to extinguish the fire and provide on-site warnings and updates on the crisis.

The Otsuki city government set up an evacuation center for 189 people from 102 households near the fire scene, but as of 10 a.m. on March 1, no one had left their home, officials said.

The wildfire broke out around 1:40 p.m. on Feb. 26, according to prefectural police and the fire department.

A resident called emergency services around 1:45 p.m. that day to say, “I was burning dead grass and other materials when the fire spread,” officials said.

A forest fire also broke out in the Takeshikamihoniri district in Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, on Feb. 28.

Firefighting activities resumed at 6 a.m. on March 1.

The area of fire damage is not yet known, and there is no immediate prospect of fire containment, fire officials said.

On March 1, three SDF aircraft dumped water over the area. About 220 firefighters and fire brigade members were dispatched to the area, officials said.

Helicopters from Toyama, Gifu, and Shizuoka prefectures were also scheduled to join the firefighting efforts.

Fire officials said a resident reported that “the mountain is on fire” around 12:15 p.m. on Feb. 28.

The fire is believed to have been started by burning dead grass that spread to the forest, according to local authorities.

A man in his 70s suffered burns to his face and hands.

(This article was compiled from reports written by Nobufumi Yamada, Jin Hirakawa, Hana Matsuo and Takuya Ikeda.)