Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba was considering declaring the country’s biggest wildfire in decades a “severe disaster” as the blaze continued to rage for the eighth day, reducing nearly 3,000 hectares of land to ashes.
Firefighting operations have been underway in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, since last week where nearly 4,111 people, nearly 13 per cent of the city’s population have evacuated as of 7am local time Wednesday.
At least 84 homes burned down or were damaged and one person died in the fire.
More than 2,000 troops and and firefighters have been deployed from across the country.
However, a 15-day-long dry spell ended for the first time in the city as a substantial amount of rain brought hopes that the blaze would be extinguished soon.
The Morioka Regional Meteorological Observatory recorded rain and snow at 4am on Wednesday morning and some areas recorded 0.5mm of rain for the first time in 16 days.
Mr Ishiba on Wednesday said they will consider designating the wildfires as severe disasters so that it is eligible for state aid, according to Nippon.com.
"We'll make sure we respond quickly and appropriately, so that disaster victims can feel at ease and financial burdens on local governments are small," Mr Ishiba said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet.
He said a decision could be made as soon as the progress is made in addressing the fire.
According to authorities, nearly 2900 hectares – about 9 per cent of the total area of the city - has been gutted, increasing to 300 hectares more in the last 24 hours.
The prefectural government said 19 helicopters, including eight large Self-Defense Forces helicopters and disaster prevention helicopters from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, were scheduled to undertake firefighting depending on weather conditions.
Meanwhile, firefighters on the ground continued to battle the fire.
Unusually dry winter and strong winds have contributed to forest fires spreading faster in the region. It is the country’s largest wildfire since at least 1992, when a blaze burned nearly 1,000 hectares (2500 acres) on the northern island of Hokkaido.
A dry weather advisory has been in place from 15 consecutive days in the southern coastal areas. It was lifted on Tuesday night before the rain lashed, bringing respite to people.
“I’ve been hoping for rain. I hope the fire will be brought under control,” said a 78-year-old man who was staying at the Sanriku community centre in the city told The Japan News.
The record forest fires came as Japan endured its driest February in over two decades.
