Japan contains one of its biggest wildfires in decades after 11-day battle

Wildfires that scorched forests in northern Japan, reportedly the second biggest in over 30 years, have been brought under control after 11 days, officials have said.

Hundreds of firefighters and more than 1,000 military personnel had battled the blazes since late April, as they burned around 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) across the mountainous Iwate region.

The affected area is almost five times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

At least eight buildings were damaged, and two people suffered minor injuries, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Thousands of people were evacuated as fires picked up.

Otsuchi town mayor Kozo Hirano told reporters on Saturday that he had been “informed that… the fire had been brought under control” after visiting the area with fire officials.

He credited aerial and ground firefighting operations, as well as heavy rainfall, for containing the flames.

But Hirano said authorities would remain vigilant as there was a possibility that smouldering embers would remain.

Kyodo News described the blaze as Japan’s second-largest wildfire in over 30 years.

Increasingly dry winters have raised the risk of wildfires. Last year, Iwate suffered a separate wildfire that burned 2,600 hectares, the largest in Japan since 1975, when 2,700 hectares were scorched by fire in Kushiro, on the northern island of Hokkaido.

Scientists have long warned that climate change caused by mankind’s burning of fossil fuels will make periods of drought more intense and longer-lasting, creating the ideal conditions for wildfires.