Two mountain fires in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, which erupted Wednesday, had burned over 200 hectares by Thursday morning. Self-Defense Forces helicopters were deployed to combat the blazes, which destroyed seven structures and forced 245 evacuations amid a recent earthquake aftermath. The town, scarred by the 2011 tsunami, faces added risks from dry weather.
Following the initial outbreak on Wednesday afternoon—one fire in Kozuchi district at 1:55 p.m. and another 10 km away in Kirikiri district at 4:30 p.m.—the blazes continued to spread unchecked overnight, scorching more than 200 hectares by Thursday morning.
Otsuchi authorities had issued evacuation orders for about 1,900 people in 900 households. By Thursday, 245 individuals from 102 households had sought shelter, including a woman in her 60s who sustained minor injuries after falling at an evacuation center.
In response to the town's request, Self-Defense Force helicopters began water-dropping operations in the Kirikiri district early Thursday, with additional units from Aomori and Akita prefectures en route.
The fires approached residential areas amid dry weather and strong winds, with the Morioka Local Meteorological Office forecasting no heavy rain for days. Complicating matters, Otsuchi lies in a tsunami-prone zone hit hard by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Monday's magnitude 7.7 quake off Tohoku had triggered a temporary tsunami advisory and evacuations in the affected areas.
"I couldn’t sleep because I’m so worried about my house," said a 63-year-old wakame seaweed farmer sheltering at an elementary school. "I can’t do anything, even work."
She had spotted smoke while preparing wakame near a fishing port, rushed home to spray water on her property—rebuilt on a hill after the 2011 tsunami destroyed the original—and was urged to evacuate by volunteer firefighters. "I felt scared because that quake reminded me of the disaster [in 2011]," she added. "I hope my house won’t burn down."