SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Japan forest on fire after military explosives drill
Tokyo, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2025
Fire-fighters and helicopters were combating a blaze in a forest on a Japanese island on Friday, with media reports saying it may have been started by nearby military exercises.

Public broadcaster NHK's live footage showed the blaze burning across a wooded hillside in the western Hiroshima region and smoke billowing into the air.

The fire follows the issuing of a dry weather advisory in southern Hiroshima after a long period without rain, with residents urged to take care when handling fire.

The forest is flanked by a shooting range operated by the Maritime Self-Defense Forces (MSDF), which was conducting an "explosives training around 9:30 am (0030 GMT)" Friday, a spokesman told AFP.

"Gunpowder was being used for the drill," the official with the MSDF 1st Service School said, adding it "still remains under investigation" whether the explosives had caused the fire.

Around 60 firefighters and four helicopters had been mobilised to put out the blaze, which has engulfed at least two hectares (five acres) of forest, a local fire department told AFP.

No injuries have been reported, but authorities have urged roughly 150 residents at a nearby nursing home to start evacuating in case the fire spreads.

The forest is in Hiroshima's Etajima district, an island with a population of over 20,000 people.

Japan saw in 2024 its hottest year since records began in 1898, mirroring other nations as ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions fuel climate change.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Ariane 6 to deliver inaugural Galileo 2nd Gen satellites as European industry backs Arianespace
Momentus to conduct multi sensor rendezvous trial with US Air Force
Blue Origin mission simulates moon gravity

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Google pledge against using AI for weapons vanishes
MIT engineers help multirobot systems stay in the safety zone
Scientists' conference kicks off global AI summit in Paris

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
US-Japan summit: what to expect
Trump calls for work on new Iran nuclear deal to begin 'immediately'
U.S. Navy intercepted test drone with HELIOS directed-energy weapon

24/7 News Coverage
Fresh quake barrage hits Greek island Santorini
Pain, anger as Turkey marks two years since quake disaster
January sets 'surprising' heat record: EU monitor



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.