The wildfire in Iwate Prefecture has slowed down after two days of rain through Thursday, with the government announcing plans to offer financial support for disaster victims whose houses have been damaged.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee on Thursday that victims of the forest fire in the city of Ofunato in the prefecture will be covered by an existing law aimed at helping disaster victims rebuild their lives. The law would offer up to ¥3 million ($20,000) to those whose houses were damaged by the fire.
“For the cost of forest disaster recovery, we would like to provide generous financial support to local governments through government subsidies,” Ishiba said. “For this case, we will work to extinguish the fire as soon as possible and provide as much support as possible to the victims.”
If the wildfire victims qualify for coverage, it will be the third fire-related disaster to be recognized since the law took effect in 2001, following cases in Niigata Prefecture in 2016 and Shimane Prefecture in 2021.
Following closer on-the-ground inspection, the city downgraded the official count of buildings damaged from the fire to 78 from an initial 84.
The area of damage has not expanded since the previous day, remaining at 2,900 hectares — 9% of the city's total area — with the rain having slowed down the fire's progression.
The city saw 26.5 millimeters of rain on Wednesday, far exceeding the 2.5mm rainfall for the entire month of February as the region endured a severe dry spell.
The city said on Thursday that they are considering lifting evacuation orders in certain areas. As of now, the orders apply to 4,596 people across 1,896 households.
Firefighting efforts continued in the city on Thursday as authorities resumed spraying water from helicopters after halting operations the day before due to the bad weather. Around 2,000 firefighters remain on the ground to help put out the fire.
“Thanks to the rain (on Wednesday), we are able to see some white smoke, but we are still waiting for the complete suppression of the fire,” said Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami on Thursday morning. “I believe that this is the result of the efforts by the local fire departments that began operation when the fire started on Feb. 26 and the increased backup from the Self-Defense Forces since then.”
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