TOKYO - Strong winds intensified out-of-control wildfires in two western Japanese prefectures on March 26, burning through over a cumulative 900ha and leaving at least 15 buildings destroyed.
The fire in Ehime prefecture has burned over 410ha in Imabari and Saijo, engulfing seven houses and two warehouses.
Meanwhile, in Okayama Prefecture, approximately 540ha have burned in the cities of Okayama and neighbouring Tamano, burning another six structures.
Firefighters and the Ground Self-Defence Force were working to control the blazes that were first reported on the afternoon of March 23 in both prefectures.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he hoped the relevant agencies can contain the fires and he asked them to ensure the residents are safely evacuated. He also ordered the deployment of power supply vehicles amid a possibility of widespread power cuts.
Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said at a press conference on March 26 that the Self-Defence Forces’ Joint Operations Command was responding to the fires in the two prefectures, as well as one in Miyazaki prefecture in south-western Japan.
The Joint Operations Command was established on March 24 and integrates the operations of the country’s ground, maritime and air defences.
On the night of March 25, the Ehime prefectural government held a disaster response meeting to assess the spread of the fire, as helicopters from the GSDF conducted 55 water drops.
Governor Tokihiro Nakamura stressed that the “situation remains dangerous despite there being no casualties”.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has put in a request to eight prefectures for emergency firefighting personnel to be sent to Imabari.
Imabari and Saijo have issued evacuation orders to nearly 7,500 people across over 3,800 households, while similar orders have also been issued in Okayama and Tamano.
Meanwhile, a separate fire in the city of Miyazaki that began on March 25 was brought under control on the evening of March 26, with the city lifting evacuation orders for 70 households in the area.
The fire burned through approximately 50ha. But there were no reports of injuries or demolished buildings, according to the agency.
The latest blazes came [after a massive wildfire in Ofunato in Iwate prefecture](https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-battles-biggest-wildfire-in-decades), north-eastern Japan, burned around 3,000ha of the city over 12 days from late February before it was brought under control. KYODO NEWS
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