Firefighters were Tuesday battling Japan's worst wildfire in half a century, which has left one dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 local residents. White smoke billowed from a forested area around the northern city of Ofunato,

Firefighting efforts continued in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, as the forest fire spread on Friday (Feb 28), and the number of helicopters being used to help put out the fire has increased to 16.

Thousands have evacuated after a wildfire broke out in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture last week. At least one person has died. Snow and rain forecast for Tuesday nights onwards could bring relief.

Japanese firefighters are struggling to contain a week-long wildfire on the country’s northeastern coast that has spread to become the worst the country has seen in half a century.

Japan has deployed more than 2,000 firefighters to battle the country's biggest forest fire in three decades. At least one person has died in the blaze, which has torched more than 5,200 acres around the northern Japanese city of Ofunato since Thursday,