<h3>In Reiwa, Japan, forest fires broke out frequently. <br>
Fire was finally extinguished after 12 days <br>
The cause of the fire was &#8220;abnormal weather.</h3>
<figure id="attachment_417477" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417477" style="width: 1982px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="726db37b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/383c3a138a95b5de75a37492d425f636-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417477" class="wp-caption-text"> About 2,000 firefighters from all over Japan gathered at the scene of the fire. They worked to extinguish the fire in the forest where pump trucks and other vehicles could not enter.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When the fire broke out, we thought it would be contained quickly. However, the fire quickly grew in intensity, and sirens and announcements about the spread of the fire were blaring so loudly that they could be heard even inside stores in the town. As time went on, I became more and more anxious.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> That day, I was standing in the kitchen of the restaurant cooking as usual, but when I saw the mountain of smoke rising from the window, I knew it was no longer the time to be working. About 50 people, including families and the elderly, evacuated one after another to an evacuation center right in front of the restaurant, bringing food and spare clothes.</span></p>
<p> Noriyuki Kikuchi, owner of &#8220;Restaurant Sanpei&#8221; in Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, is still providing meals to the evacuees.</p>
<p> On February 26, the &#8220;worst wildfire since the Heisei era&#8221; broke out in Akasaki Town, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, burning 2,900 hectares (9% of Ofunato City) and more than 200 buildings over a 12-day period, forcing the evacuation of over 4,300 people. Why did the damage spread so widely?</p>
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<p> Why did the damage spread so far? <span class="strongInContent">Weather</span> forecaster Koshi Murayama explains, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;The weather conditions were such that the fire could easily spread</span>.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Since December of last year, a winter pressure pattern has been strengthening, and very little rain has been observed in Iwate Prefecture. Ofunato City received 20 mm of rainfall in January this year, 39% of the normal amount, and only 2.5 mm in February, about 6% of the normal amount. The air was parched and dry, and tree branches and leaves were more flammable than usual.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Furthermore, from around February 25 to 27, there was a strong wind with a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 17 to 18 m/s in Ofunato City. The strong winds carried the sparks of the fire far and wide, allowing it to spread.&#8221;</span></p>
<h3> Abnormal weather conditions in the Japanese archipelago also contributed to the spread of the fire.</h3>
<p> Professor Yoshihiro Tachibana of Mie University, an expert on climate change, points out that &#8220;abnormal weather conditions&#8221; were behind the outbreak of the huge wildfires.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> In winter, snow clouds come from the Sea of Japan side over the mountains to the Pacific side. However, this year&#8217;s heavy snowfall on the Sea of Japan side drained out all the moisture, and the snow clouds disappeared. As a result, dry air entered the Pacific Ocean side.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The effect of the sea water temperature off Sanriku, which has risen 6°C above normal since &#8217;23 and recorded the largest figure in observation history, was also significant. The strong winds were created by the increased pressure difference between the cold air of the cold wave and the warm air of the sea.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The wildfires this time were created by the combination of the dryness brought by the heavy snowfall on the Sea of Japan side and the strong winds caused by the significant rise in sea water temperatures.&#8221;</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Lamentation from the field: I don&#39;t know where to start putting out the fires."></div>
<p>The failure to extinguish the fire immediately also contributed to the spread of damage. Mitsuhiro Takeda, a former firefighter and representative of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, explains the difficulty of extinguishing fires in mountain forests.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The fire scene in Ofunato City has many steep slopes, making it difficult for fire pump trucks and heavy machinery to enter. Firefighters carrying backpacks that could hold only a few liters of water were used to extinguish the fires, but they could not apply large amounts of water at once, and it took a long time to extinguish the fires. We also used aerial firefighting from helicopters, but when the wind was strong, as it was this time, the water was dispersed, making it less effective,&#8221; said one firefighter.</span></p>
<p> In fact, the firefighters on the scene were exhausted.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> In fact, the firefighters on the scene were exhausted. &#8220;Imagine charcoal from a barbecue. In the same way, no matter how much water is sprayed on burning trees, every time a strong wind blows, oxygen is supplied and the fire rekindles here and there. Firefighters on the scene lamented, &#8216;We don&#8217;t know where to start putting out the fires.</span></p>
<h3> A huge wildfire could erupt anywhere at any time.</h3>
<p> On the 10th, the day after the wildfire in Ofunato was declared under control, forest fires broke out in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, and Kawakami Village, Nara Prefecture. Professor Tachibana warned, &#8220;The dangerous situation will continue for some time.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The spring is the season when wildfires are most likely to occur, as the air remains dry from March to April and strong winds are likely to prevail. On the Pacific Ocean side, huge wildfires can erupt anywhere at any time. On the Sea of Japan side, too, we need to be vigilant once the snow melts and the air dries out.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> The future of several forests burning all over Japan is beginning to look more and more real.</p>
<figure id="attachment_417478" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417478" style="width: 3802px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f0211625"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/2ba5eeeed88afd46a83a77118a5ae2ee-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417478" class="wp-caption-text"> Akasaki Town, Ofunato City, Japan, at around 8 p.m. on March 3. Even after five days had passed, the spread of the fire in the forest showed no sign of abating.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_417479" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417479" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="fcc6f67a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/6435d32d37d1131c71d487aed3abdc7a-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417479" class="wp-caption-text"> Firefighters scrape out combustibles in Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City. The fire destroyed an area roughly 620 times the size of Tokyo Dome.</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the March 28, 2025 issue of FRIDAY</p>


 Aomori Regional Wide-Area Firefighting Association Fire Headquarters (1st and 3rd photos), Kyodo News (2nd photo)

 On February 26, the "worst wildfire since the Heisei era" broke out in Akasaki Town, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, spread for 12 days, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,300 people. We asked experts why the damage had spread so far.

Over 4,300 people evacuated from the wildfires in Ofunato, Iwate, Japan. “On-Scene Photos” of Tense and Fearful Situations

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