Northeast Japan Fire spreads to 1,200 hectares

The blaze has led to the discovery of a burned body and is believed to have consumed 84 buildings. Firefighters said that it will be difficult to put out the fire in two or three days.

The size of the fire, if confirmed, is the biggest in Japan since the start of the Heisei era in 1989, outstripping the 1,030-hectare fire that occurred in Kushiro, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, in 1992, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The Ofunato city government has issued evacuation orders for 4,263 people in 1,755 households.

As of 6 p.m. Friday, 857 people were evacuated to local public facilities, the city said.

Around 700 buildings were without power due to the fire. While some houses have lost their water supply, all people affected have been evacuated.

"I think (my house) is done for," said Akemi Kumagai, a 67-year-old who evacuated to a community centre. "I have given up."

"The fire broke out just when I had returned to normal life after the 2011 earthquake and I was feeling relieved," Kumagai went on.

"It's frustrating, but we have no choice but to move forward." "I lay down but couldn't sleep," said a 55-year-old man who fled from the fire with his mother. "I'm worried about my house, so I want information, such as how far the fire has spread."

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday instructed fire authorities and the Self-Defense Forces to work together to bring the blaze under control as swiftly as possible.

He also called for securing evacuation centers and promoting efforts to rebuild people's lives, saying his government should "collaborate with local governments to spread information on aid in a way that is easy to understand."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Photo by Reuters