Photo/Illutration Smoke rises from various parts of a mountain in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, on March 26. (Masaaki Kobayashi)

The largest forest fire on record in Ehime Prefecture that had been raging for a week was brought under control on March 31.

The fire destroyed 423 hectares in Imabari city and 19 hectares in neighboring Saijo, razed homes and injured firefighters.

After Imabari Mayor Shigeki Tokunaga declared the fire was under control, the city at 11 a.m. lifted its evacuation order for the remaining 611 residents in 333 households.

According to the Ehime prefectural government, three firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.

In Imabari, 21 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the fire, including houses and warehouses. All of the buildings were located far from forests and are believed to have been set ablaze by sparks carried by strong winds.

In Saijo, part of a temple was destroyed.

It was the largest forest fire in the prefecture since 1989, when statistics were first compiled for fires covering 100 hectares or more.

The fire broke out at around 4 p.m. on March 23 in a forest in Imabari’s Nagasawa district. It spread across Imabari and reached Saijo city, burning about 442 hectares.

Rain fell from the evening of March 27 to early March 28, the first consistent rainfall since the fire started.

Firefighting and monitoring of heat sources continued on March 29 and 30. Based on observations from above and on the ground, firefighters concluded that the fire was no longer likely to spread.

Mayor Tokunaga said Imabari will examine the condition of the mountains and the initial firefighting activities.

Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura said at a meeting of the prefectural disaster headquarters on March 31, “When handling fire during the dry season, it is important to pay close attention to the wind forecast.”

He added, “The biggest challenge is how to make this known to the public.”

At Ehime Prefecture’s request, helicopters of the Self-Defense Forces and emergency firefighting teams from eight prefectures joined the fight against the wildfire.

A total of 6,681 firefighters and fire brigades were involved in firefighting activities as of March 31.

(This article was written by Takashi Miyazawa and Yasushi Horie.)

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