Firefighters are fighting a fire around the city of Ofunato, the ninth day. Due to the long -lasting drought, in this part of the Iwate prefecture, the flames have been spreading all the time and have ever digested about 2,900 hectares of land and forced over 4,500 people to evacuate. On Wednesday, for the first time in 9 days, rain began there, which stopped the progress of flames. This does not mean, however, that the fire was completely under control.
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Helicopters drop water again
The local authorities announced on Thursday morning that despite the rain in several places There is still smoke. However, there are many indications that the fire does not spread. The abolition of an evacuation order in the Akasakicho district on the bay of ofunato is considered. However, such a decision has not yet been made.
The mayor of ofunato Kiyoshi Fuchigami during the briefing said that “partly thanks to the rain The situation has calmed down to some extent“He added that he was aware that the inhabitants want to return home as soon as possible and assured that the evacuation order would be abolished when it was sure that it is safe.
Firefighting helicopters could not fly due to bad conditions on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, with the termination of rainfall, Action from the air resumed And water drops are ongoing.
Currently, firefighters are focusing around the Sanriko district, where white smoke poles were noticed during scout flights. Representatives of the fire brigade emphasize that the fire is no longer as big as on Tuesday, but “There is still no prospects for his suppression” – Informuje Gazeta” Ashi Shimbun “.
On Thursday, the weather can help firefighters again, because in the morning the morning is cloudy and synoptics are expecting rainfall rain or snow In the evening. However, he will not support firefighters' efforts for too long. On Friday, it is to spread again and the rain may be missing.
The worst fire for half a century
The fire of the forests surrounding the city of ofunato broke out on Wednesday and since then it consumed about 2,900 hectares. This The biggest such fire in Japan from half a century. Until now, the worst phenomenon of this type was a fire from 1975, which consumed 2700 hectares on the island of Hokkaido.
1896 houses were evacuated due to the threat, in which a total of over 4,500 people live. It's about 15 percent the entire population of the city of Ofunato.
The development of flames was favored by prolonged drought in the region. In February, 2.5 liters of water per square meter fell in February – the least in the history of local measurements, well below the average, of 41 liters.
Source: AFP, Asahi.com, NHK.or.jp