Massive forest fires that broke out in Ehime and Okayama prefectures on March 23 continued raging on March 26, forcing widespread evacuations and threatening a power blackout. 

The forest fire that started in Miyazaki Prefecture on March 25 was being contained as of the evening of March 26.

In Ehime Prefecture, a major forest fire continued spreading for the fourth day on March 26.

According to the city government of Imabari, the area scorched by the fires had spread further.

By the morning of March 26, it was confirmed that a total of approximately 306 hectares had been destroyed.

City officials also said that a fire broke out in a building on March 25, possibly caused by sparks carried on strong winds, and destroyed six residential buildings and two warehouses.

Evacuation orders have so far been issued for 5,988 people in 3,056 households in seven districts in the city. As of the morning of March 26, 251 people from 137 households had been evacuated, the city said.

At the request of the Ehime prefectural government, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency dispatched an emergency firefighting assistance team, which has been fighting the blazes since the night of March 25.

SOUL OF PARISHONERS AT RISK

On the morning of March 26, a 46-year-old man was anxiously watching the firefighting efforts in Imabari’s Asakura-Minami district, where an evacuation order had been issued.

The fire was still raging with white smoke rising from various parts on the mountain there.

“Last night the fire was only one mountain over, but this morning it is burning on the mountain in front of us,” he said. “I am afraid that the fire is getting closer and closer.”

The man is a parishioner at Sugajinja shrine in the district.

He said there is talk of removing the taiko drums and “mikoshi” portable shrines before the fire spreads to the shrine.

“It's frustrating and sad that all we can do is watch the fire spread,” he said. “I don’t know how much can be carried away, but I want to at least protect what we can call the 'soul' of the shrine’s parishioners.”

BLACKOUT POSSIBILITY IN IMABARI

According to Shikoku Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co., if the fire spreads further, there is a possibility that almost the entire Imabari city will be without power.

At a news conference on March 25, the company said there are two main transmission lines that supply power to the city.

Of these, the Sakurai line, which runs through the area where the fire spread, was shut down on March 25 for safety reasons.

The remaining Imabari line has been transmitting power. However, the fire has been approaching the juncture where the two lines meet, and if the fire spreads further, the Imabari line may also be rendered unusable, the company said.

In such a case, “up to 76,000 households, which is almost the entire area of Imabari city, may be without power,” an official said.

The company said the critical situation remained unchanged on March 26.

According to Shikoku Railway Co. (JR Shikoku), a fire broke out near JR Iyo-Sakurai Station in Imabari at shortly after 1:30 p.m. on March 25.

Soon after, a two-car regular train arrived at the station, as the flames near the platform. As smoke billowed out, passengers alighted from the train in succession onto the platform, and the train quickly turned around and departed.

Firefighters worked frantically to extinguish the fire, and the spread of the fire was stopped just in time.

FIREFIGHTING CREWS BUSY IN OKAYAMA

The forest fire that broke out in the Akura district of Okayama city’s Minami Ward on March 23 has entered the fourth day as well.

Firefighting activities from the ground and the air by local fire departments and Self-Defense Forces have continued.

According to the city officials, the fire continued to spread eastward, covering an area of approximately 423 hectares, and a “slow combustion is continuing” as of March 26.

However, no new damage to homes has been confirmed, officials said.

Near the fire scene, five people were staying at an evacuation center opened at a junior high school as of 9:30 a.m. on March 26.

In the neighboring city of Tamano, a maximum of six people were evacuated at one time on the night of March 25, but as of 7:30 a.m. on March 26, all the evacuees had left.

SCHOOL THREATENED IN MIYAZAKI

A forest fire in the Kagamisu district in Miyazaki was being contained as of the evening of March 26.

According to Miyazaki city fire officials, no smoke was detected at the site, and no damage to people or buildings had been confirmed.

An evacuation order issued to a total of 70 households in Kagamisu was still in effect as of the evening of March 26.

The fire broke out before noon on March 25, encompassing an area of approximately 50 hectares. Firefighting crews are continuing to battle the blaze.

The site of the fire is a mountain forest about 10 kilometers south of the center of Miyazaki city.

Kagamisu Elementary School is located about 1 km away.

The school postponed its end-of-the-school-year ceremony scheduled for March 26 to a later date.

Mihoko Yamamoto, assistant principal of the school, said that the smoke that had been rising in the mountains the day before was no longer visible on March 26.

“I was worried about what would happen during the night when the firefighting efforts were suspended, but when I arrived in the morning, I saw blue skies and felt a little relieved,” she said.

A 29-year-old man living in Kagamisu evacuated to a shelter with his family on the evening of March 25.

He said that his grandmother, who is in her 80s and walks with a limp, had difficulty staying overnight at the shelter and had to be admitted to a hospital.

“Yesterday I saw smoke and soot dancing in the air, a mixture of black and white,” he said. “I had no fear, but it was difficult to evacuate in a hurry.”

(This article was compiled from reports written by Takashi Miyazawa, Mami Okada, Hiroki Kitamura, Takuya Asakura, Kengo Yamada, Tazuko Goto and Yuta Torio.)