A massive fire tore through a coastal district in southern Japan on Wednesday, destroying more than 170 buildings and leaving one person dead as military and firefighting helicopters worked to contain the country’s largest urban blaze in nearly fifty years.
The fire erupted Tuesday evening in the Saganoseki area of Oita city, a hilly neighborhood overlooking a well-known fishing harbor. Fueled by strong winds, the flames spread quickly across homes, nearby forested slopes, and even an uninhabited island more than a kilometre offshore, according to local media.
Authorities said the fire covered roughly 48,900 square metres, an area comparable to seven football fields. The scale makes it Japan’s most extensive urban fire since a 1976 blaze in Sakata, excluding incidents triggered by earthquakes.
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Around 175 residents fled to emergency shelters as firefighters, police, and the Self-Defense Forces scrambled to contain the growing perimeter. Aerial footage from national broadcasters showed streets reduced to charred rubble and thick smoke billowing across the waterfront.
Local outlets reported that one person had been confirmed dead. A woman in her fifties was treated in hospital for minor burns.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed sympathy for residents forced to flee in winter weather. “I extend my heartfelt condolences to all residents who are evacuating in the cold,” she wrote on X, adding that the central government would coordinate closely with local authorities to provide support.
Kyushu Electric Power said outages affected roughly 300 homes in the district as crews worked to stabilise damaged lines.
Japan has seen several urban fires in older coastal or port communities where wooden structures stand close together, though few have reached this scale. In 2016, a fire in Itoigawa burned 147 buildings and about 40,000 square metres, but no deaths were recorded.
Officials in Oita said investigations into the cause were ongoing. With weather forecasts predicting continued winds, emergency crews remained on alert through the night.