Japan battles largest wildfire in decades
Guardian7 days ago
Japan Battles Largest Wildfire in 30 Years, Thousands Evacuate
Above: Smoke rising from a forest fire near Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture on Feb. 27, 2025. Image copyright: STR/Contributor/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
A massive wildfire that began on Wednesday in Ofunato, northern Japan, has spread to approximately 1.8K hectares of forest land, marking the country's largest wildfire since the 1992 Kushiro incident.
The disaster has resulted in one confirmed death, damaged more than 80 buildings, and forced the evacuation of about 4.6K residents. Over 1.2K people have taken refuge in emergency shelters.
Nearly 1.7K firefighters from around 450 departments across Japan have been mobilized to combat the blaze, with Self-Defense Force helicopters conducting aerial firefighting operations.
The Spin
Narrative A
The unprecedented scale of this wildfire highlights the increasing threat of climate change to Japan's forests, with 2023 being the country's hottest year on record and abnormally dry conditions creating perfect conditions for fire spread. Record-low rainfall and rising temperatures have created a tinderbox situation that threatens both natural resources and human settlements.
Narrative B
The current wildfire situation primarily stems from seasonal weather patterns and traditional land management practices. The February-April period historically has been prone to fires due to controlled field burning and recreational activities. The existing firefighting infrastructure and inter-prefecture cooperation systems have proven effective in protecting residential areas despite challenging conditions.
