Japan has deployed almost 1,700 firefighters on Monday to put out its biggest forest fire in three decades near the city of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate. The fire and disaster unit said the fire has burned through 2,100 acres since Thursday, after one of the driest periods in the area and one of Japan's hottest summers.

One person has died, while 4,600 people remain under evacuation advisory, 2,000 of whom left their homes to stay with people they know, while 1,200 others evacuated to shelters, according to Japanese officials.

"We're still examining the size of the affected area, but it is the biggest since the 1992 wildfire" in Kushiro, Hokkaido, an agency spokesperson told AFP, referring to a fire that burned 1,030 hectares of land.

Firefighters from 14 Japanese regions, including units from Tokyo, were engaged in battling the blaze, with 16 helicopters, including those from the military, making efforts to douse the flames, as the fire was estimated to have damaged 84 buildings by Sunday, though details were still under assessment, the agency reported.

Early morning footage from the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) showed fires in Ofunato burning close to buildings as white smoke filled the air.

According to government data, wildfires in Japan have declined since the 1970s, however, dry winds caused a concentration of fires between February and April in 2023, reaching 1,300. Ofunato saw its lowest rainfall, 2.5 milliliters, in February 2025, breaking the previous record of 4.4 milliliters.