Overview
- The fire burned 48,900 square metres after starting Tuesday night in Oita’s Saganoseki district, with flames reported on nearby forested slopes and an uninhabited island.
- More than 170 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and 175 residents evacuated to an emergency shelter, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
- Police and local media reported that a body was found, and a woman in her 50s was hospitalized with mild burns.
- Dozens of fire engines, two army helicopters, and more than 200 firefighters were deployed, and the blaze was not fully contained nearly 20 hours later, Sky News reported.
- Kyushu Electric said roughly 300 homes lost power, and coverage noted this ranks as Japan’s largest urban fire since a 1976 blaze in Sakata, excluding earthquake-related incidents.