The mayor of the city of Ofunato in northern Japan announced today that the biggest forest fire in more than 50 years has been brought under control, Agence France-Presse reported.
The fire broke out in a mountainous area on February 26 and caused the death of at least one person. At least 210 buildings have been destroyed by the flames, and over 4,200 people have been evacuated, local authorities reported, quoted by BTA.
„After an aerial survey, we assessed that there is no longer a risk of the fire spreading. "I declare the fire under control," said Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami.
The flames have devastated about 2,900 hectares of land, surpassing the previous record of 2,700 hectares burned in a 1975 fire in Hokkaido Prefecture.
Rainfall that fell on Wednesday, after a period of record drought, helped firefighters' efforts, AFP notes.
Last year, Japan experienced its hottest summer on record, amid rising temperatures around the world due to global warming.
In February, Ofunato received just 2.5 mm of rain, nearly half the previous record of 4.4 mm, set in 1967. and is far from the average of 41 mm for this month.
The number of forest fires in Japan has fallen since their peak in the 1970s. In Japan, they usually rage between February and May, when the air is dry and winds are weaker. In recent years, an average of about 1,300 fires have been recorded annually.