A large wildfire in Ofunato City of Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan has paralyzed local traffic as the risks of the fire spreading persist, fueled by dry weather condition. The week-long wildfire broke out on February 26 and has affected wide areas, burning approximately 2,900 hectares, or 9 percent of the city's total area, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported. The ongoing wildfire has blocked roads, shut down rail transportation, and disrupted metro services, causing significant inconvenience for passengers. At Sakari Station in the city, a train service to a nearby city has been suspended, forcing travelers to rely on buses for their journey. The resumption time for the service remains unknown. Although a rainfall on Wednesday has weakened the wildfire to some extent, heat sources have still been detected underground in multiple locations. Moreover, the continuous dry weather experienced by the city also poses threats for possible fire spread. According to the local meteorological authority, Ofunato City and the surrounding coastal areas are expected to see mostly sunny or cloudy days in the coming week from Friday, which will keep the weather dry and pose additional challenges for firefighting efforts. Shotlist: Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan - March 6, 2025: 1. Cityscape; 2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Tetsu Yoshida, head, Sakari Station (partially overlaid with shot 3): "Around four to five hundred passengers are affected in one day. Additionally, many travelers from across the country have arrived here, meaning more people might have been impacted. In short, we can only hope the fire will be extinguished soon."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 3. Sakari Station; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Various of train station, flatcars, trains on tracks; 5. Various of railway traffic light, trains on track; 6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Onoda Toshifumi, official, local firefighting authority (partially overlaid with shot 3): "After the rainfall on Wednesday, we believe the fire has been contained to a considerable extent, but we haven't confirmed this on the ground to assess when it might spread again. Given these factors, we cannot say the fire is under control."; 7. Various of police cars parking on road; Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan - March 4, 2025 8. Various of smoke arising over maintain. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]