Fire Spotted on Mt. Myogi in Gunma Pref.; SDF Helicopters Dispatched as Blaze Continues to Burn

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:17 JST, December 9, 2025

A hiker spotted a forest fire on Mt. Myogi in Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, on Monday morning and made a call to emergency services.

According to the prefecture, the blaze had burned 22.8 hectares at the 1,104-meter-high mountain by Tuesday morning and had not been extinguished.

No injuries have been reported.

Disaster prevention helicopters from Gunma and Saitama prefectures conducted aerial firefighting while ground crews fought the blaze. However, the flames continued to spread.

Gunma Prefecture requested support from the Self-Defense Forces after the city asked, and Ground Self-Defense Force helicopters began firefighting operations on Tuesday morning.