More than 1,300 firefighters supported by a dozen helicopters are being deployed to battle the forest fires near Otsuchi

More than 1,300 firefighters supported by a dozen helicopters are being deployed to battle the forest fires near Otsuchi

 ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

Hundreds of firefighters were battling wildfires in the forests of northern Japan on Saturday, as authorities urged more than 3,200 people to evacuate from their homes, government officials said.

As of Saturday morning, blazes in the mountainous areas of Iwate region had burned about 700 hectares (1,730 acres) since breaking out three days ago, local government officials said in a statement.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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