Continuous rain on Wednesday has helped contain the spread of a week-long wildfire in Ofunato City of Japan's Iwate Prefecture, local media reported. However, the roads to mountains were still closed. As of Wednesday, over 4,500 people from more than 1,800 households in Ofunato City have been evacuated. For the first time since the fire began, steady rain was recorded on Wednesday, measuring 17 mm by 1700 local time. The city reported that no further spread of the fire was confirmed, attributing this to the rain. The wildfire, which began on Feb. 26, has lasted for over a week. It has affected wide areas, burning approximately 2,900 hectares, or 9 percent of the city's total area, national broadcaster NHK reported. A recent survey confirmed damage to 78 buildings, including houses, vacant properties, and workspaces, adjusting the previous estimate of at least 84 structures, according to the NHK. Officials warned that the number of affected structures may increase as further surveys are conducted. Rain is expected to continue through Thursday, with up to 20 mm of additional rainfall predicted over the next 24 hours for southern coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture, including Ofunato. Shotlist: Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan - March 5, 2025: 1. Various of road, warning sign; 2. Various of traffic control; traffic police working UPSOUND (Japanese) local policeman (name not given) (overlaid with shot 2): "No entry beyond this point. Special access may be granted for fire vehicles or in other emergency situations. Otherwise, entry is strictly prohibited for basically all the people."; 3. Fire trucks running; 4. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Toshifumi Onoda, firewarden, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture (partially overlaid with shot 5): "For now, it seems that the fire hasn't spread. But it's yet to rule out the possibility that the fire might continue spreading if weather changes. Today, we cannot conduct aerial firefighting because of the bad weather. However, aerial firefighting is expected to resume tomorrow pending on weather conditions."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan - March 4, 2025 5. Smoke arising over mountain; traffic; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 6. Various of smoke arising over maintain. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]