Japan's biggest wildfire in decades rages in Iwate Prefecture putting many homes at risk

A Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter returning after dropping water on a nearby wildfire near the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. Nearly 1,700 firefighters are battling Japan's biggest forest fire in three decades, officials said on March 3, as some 4,600 residents remain under an evacuation advisory. -- Photo by Handout / Japan's Ministry of Defense / AFP

MORIOKA (Bernama-Kyodo): A massive wildfire in northeastern Japan expanded Monday with over 2,100 hectares burned since last week, putting more homes at risk.

The fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture has forced residents to evacuate since breaking out Wednesday and spreading over a wide area toward the Pacific coast, Kyodo news agency reported according to local governments.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged during a parliamentary session to "deploy all firefighting and Self-Defence Forces (SDF) capabilities to prevent people's homes from being impacted."

Firefighters recruited from across the country and SDF aircraft continued to battle the blaze after managing to prevent the flames from reaching residential areas of Ofunato on Sunday.

The forest fire is the biggest in Japan since the late 1980s, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. - Bernama-Ktodo