Evacuation Orders Mostly Lifted for Wildfires-Hit Iwate Town

Otsuchi, Iwate Pref., April 29 (Jiji Press)–The town of Otsuchi in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate lifted evacuation orders for most areas affected by wildfires that began on April 22, citing reduced risk thanks to rainfall. Otsuchi Mayor Kozo Hirano said at a press conference, “Although the evacuation orders have been lifted, the fires have not been suppressed, so please stay alert.” The wildfires broke out in the afternoon of April 22, burning 1,633 hectares by Tuesday morning, the second largest in Japan since the country’s Heisei era began in 1989, after the wildfire that occurred last year in the city of Ofunato in the same prefecture. The town government issued evacuation orders to some 3,200 people from about 1,500 households. Based on aerial and ground assessments of the state of the fires spreading on Wednesday, including by Self-Defense Force helicopters, the town concluded that safety has been secured due to rainfall that started Monday. The evacuation order continues for 24 people from 17 households in the town’s Nagai district, which is in a mountainous area and is feared to be isolated. Local fire authorities are checking heat sources and spraying water to suppress the fires. According to the Iwate prefectural government, eight buildings, including houses, have been destroyed by the wildfires and two people have been slightly injured. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]