Wildfires in the western Japanese city of Okayama continue to rage for a fifth day on Thursday. Authorities say the forest fires have burned 559 hectares so far, and are the largest ever for Okayama Prefecture.
The fires have damaged six structures, including homes and warehouses, but there are reportedly no injuries.
Self-Defense Force personnel and firefighters are continuing to battle the blazes from the air and on the ground. SDF helicopters resumed dumping water from 6 a.m.
Local firefighters say smoke is still billowing from many places in the mountains. They say sparks blown by winds have caused new fires, and blazes have flared up again in places where they had been contained.
As of 6 a.m., no flames were observed in the Miyaura district of the city’s Minami Ward. But black smoke was rising from the mountains, and two fire engines were on standby.
Evacuation orders remain in place for part of the Kogushi district of the city’s Minami Ward, and for the Banda and Kitagata districts of the adjacent city of Tamano, also in Okayama Prefecture.
Four people were staying in a shelter in Okayama City as of 7 a.m.
During the night, fire authorities deployed about the same number of personnel as in the daytime to try to prevent the flames from spreading to residential areas.
Rain is forecast for the prefecture on Thursday, but authorities say it is uncertain if this will help to contain the fires.
AloJapan.com