Japan's wildfires spread to 1,370 ectares
Wildfires in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate continued to spread, scorching about 1,370 hectares by 6 a.m. Sunday, Jiji Press reports.
The blazes in the town of Otsuchi have drawn roughly 1,500 local firefighters and other responders, but no containment is in sight, town officials said.
Evacuation orders cover about 1,500 households, or roughly 3,200 residents, accounting for around 30 pct of the town's population.
As of 7 p.m. Sunday, around 200 people had taken shelter at seven evacuation centers. The town opened an additional shelter the same day, which allows evacuees to bring their pets.
Fires in mountainous forest areas were first detected on Wednesday, with one reported around 1:50 p.m. in the town's Kozuchi district and another around 4:30 p.m. in its Kirikiri district.
Last week over 1,000 people urged to evacuate as wildfires rage in northeastern Japan.