Multiple forest fires broke out in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on April 22.

According to police and the fire department, an emergency call was made at around 2 p.m. reporting a fire in the town's Kozuchi area.

The fire spread to seven buildings, including houses, and to a nearby forested area.

Additional forest fires were later confirmed in two other parts of the town.

The fires have spread over a combined area of at least 200 hectares, and firefighting operations resumed on the morning of April 23.

According to the Iwate prefectural government, an evacuation order has been issued to about 1,900 residents in affected areas.

Officials said a woman in her 60s was injured after falling at an evacuation facility.

The prefecture has asked the Self-Defense Forces for disaster-response deployment.