Forest Fires Continue in Northeastern Japan Town

Otsuchi, Iwate Pref., April 23 (Jiji Press)–Wildfires that broke out on Wednesday in two locations in the northeastern Japan town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, continued into Thursday, burning a total of about 200 hectares, according to the town government. The town government has advised a total of about 2,600 people in 1,200 households to evacuate. About 220 people are staying in evacuation shelters. One woman in her 60s was injured after slipping at an evacuation shelter. Despite ongoing firefighting efforts, there is still no clear prospect for when the fires will be extinguished. The Iwate prefectural government has set up a disaster response headquarters and decided to invoke the disaster relief law. At around 1:50 p.m. Wednesday, an emergency call reported a fire on a mountain slope in the Kozuchi district of Otsuchi. According to the prefectural government, seven houses and buildings were destroyed, and surrounding forest areas were also burned. On the same day, another fire broke out at around 4:30 p.m. in the Kirikiri district of the town, about 10 kilometers from Kozuchi. “We’ll work to contain the fires as soon as possible and improve living conditions for evacuees,” Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso said at a meeting of the disaster response headquarters on Thursday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]