2日間で“焼失2倍”住宅に迫る火の手…岩手・大槌町の山火事 新たに避難指示も(2026年4月26日)

The forest fire in Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture, entered its fifth day. The burned area in the Kirikiri district exceeded 1,000 hectares. Four large and three medium-sized helicopters of the Self-Defense Forces were used to spray water from the air to extinguish the fire. The flames showed no signs of abating, and at times they approached within tens of meters of houses. The burned area has nearly doubled over the weekend. ■Flames approaching houses: "There's not enough water" (Announcer Kazuki Kusanagi) "It's almost 2 PM. We're in the Akahama district of Otsuchi Town. There are houses around here, and the flames are right in front of them. Thick smoke is rising within a few hundred meters." The flames continue unabated today, the 26th, the fifth day of the fire. In the Akahama district of Otsuchi Town, the flames were approaching houses. "Looking down from where the smoke is coming from, you can see flames rising. You can see it burning from here." "They've just arrived. One fire truck has just arrived. The scene is quite chaotic." Residents watch anxiously. Some are throwing water to prevent the fire from spreading to their homes, but... (A nearby resident) "Ultimately, it will dry up, and I wonder if we shouldn't use water at all. We really don't have enough water this year." In the mountainous areas where there are many fires... "This area in Otsuchi Town, there was a fire yesterday as well, but today, across the forest road, on the other side, firefighting efforts are underway. You can see flames rising in the distance." "The flames are rising quite high. The whole area is burning fiercely again." Firefighters head towards the source of the fire. A sense of tension hangs over the area. However… "Firefighting efforts have been underway for a while now, but flames are rising in another area. A place that wasn't burning earlier is now on fire." ■ Completely destroyed house… Tractor also damaged (Photographer Satoshi Horii) "Red flames are rising from the mountainside." The forest fire, which began on the 22nd, continues to expand. By the 24th, the burned area was 730 hectares, but as of 6:00 AM today, the 26th, it has nearly doubled to 1,373 hectares. Due to the flames approaching homes, the disaster response headquarters has expanded evacuation orders to 1,558 households, affecting 3,257 people. So far, eight buildings have been damaged, including one completely destroyed house. (Director Takashi Saito) "Ah, it's charred… quite a lot." We visited a house that was completely destroyed, guided by a local resident. "Ah, the tractor's tires are completely charred, only the wheels remain." A house burned to the ground, with only the foundation remaining. There was no sign of human activity there... Only the continuously flowing water hinted at the lives of those who lived there. (Yoshio Sasaki, resident of Otsuchi Town) "It's really sad, isn't it? I think this is the greenhouse where they were growing vegetable seedlings, but the resident himself just told me that it's all ruined." ■Fire Brigade: "Even if we can't put it out, we'll just buy time" To try and stop the damage, the fire brigade was fighting the fires in the mountains where embers remained. "This whole area, the fire was put out once, but there's smoke rising over there. The fire brigade is moving on to further firefighting efforts." They were painstakingly extinguishing the remaining embers using backpack-style fire extinguishing equipment that could reach 20km in length. In mountainous areas and other places where hoses cannot be extended, they have no choice but to rely on such equipment. "It's so frustrating, isn't it?" Yukio Kanezawa, who joined the fire brigade because he "wanted to contribute to his beloved Otsuchi." They have been fighting the fire all night since it started. "Wow, that fire is really high up there." At one point, due to a local water shortage, they were using hoes to try and contain the fire, and covering it with soil. (Yukio Kanezawa (41), Otsuchi Town Fire Brigade) "When we arrived, there was no water available to use for firefighting. The fire was getting close to the building, so in order to reduce the intensity of the fire as much as possible...we couldn't put it out completely, but we were able to buy some time." Even after putting it out, the flames would rise again. They say they sometimes feel powerless in the face of this reality. (Yukio Kanezawa) "Just because we put out the fire in front of us doesn't mean we've brought it under control, because there are really fires burning all over the place." From 'Udo Times', April 26 [TV Asahi NEWS] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp