Ofunato Forest Fire Declared Under Control; Evacuation Order Remains in Effect for 979 Households

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:19 JST, March 9, 2025

OFUNATO, Iwate — The city government of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, declared at 5 p.m. Sunday that a forest fire in the area is now under control.

The fire, which broke out on Feb. 26., caused damage to more than 200 houses and other structures and killed a 90-year-old man, according to the prefectural and city governments and other sources. The fire burned an area measuring about 2,900 hectares, but the burnt area had not expanded since Wednesday.

The city government issued an evacuation order for 4,596 residents in 1,896 households. The city began gradually lifting the order from Friday to Sunday, but the order remains in place for the entire district of Ryori in the city’s Sanriku town and in three districts of Akasaki town, affecting a total of 2,424 people in 979 households.