Two forest fires in northern Japan’s Iwate Prefecture burned into a fourth day on ​Saturday as ground and aerial firefighting efforts expanded ‌to more than 1,000 personnel.

The blazes are pushing closer to the residential areas of the town of Otsuchi, where ​about a third of the town’s residents ​were ordered to evacuate.

One fire broke out on ⁠Wednesday afternoon in a mountainous area of Iwate ​Prefecture, followed by another two hours later, about 10 ​km away and near Otsuchi’s residential area.

Flames are threatening homes in multiple districts, with 1,225 firefighters, including teams dispatched ​from outside the prefecture, battling the blazes from ​ground and air.

Helicopters from several prefectures and Japan’s Self-Defence Forces ‌are ⁠conducting aerial water drops.

The wildfires have scorched more than 730 hectares and forced evacuation orders covering 1,541 households and 3,233 people as of Saturday morning.

Eight ​buildings, including ​one residence, ⁠have burned. No casualties have been reported.

No rain is forecast over the coming ​week, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Together, ​the ⁠fires have burned up the third-largest area of any wildfire in Japan, behind an Ofunato fire that consumed ⁠about ​3,370 hectares in 2025 and ​the Kushiro fire in 1992 that consumed 1,030 hectares, according to ​media reports.