Wildfires in Japan ravaged hillsides, forcing mass evacuations.

The inferno erupted in mountainous areas of two western prefectures on Sunday, March 23.

In Okayama, 250 hectares were scorched. Authorities deployed 15 trucks and a firefighting helicopter to extinguish the blaze, which was reported around 3 pm. Officials also responded to flames in Ehime at 3:55 pm the same day, burning 119 hectares.

The catastrophic fires prompted immediate evacuations, with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces deployed to assist in containment efforts.

Dramatic footage captured by Miki shows a mountain engulfed in fierce orange flames in Okayama.

Miki said: 'The fire is spreading to the back of the mountain. All I could hear was the crackling sound of burning wood and the sound of the fire pump.'

No injuries were reported.

The recent fires follow a large wildfire that erupted in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, in late February. The blaze scorched approximately 3,000 hectares of the city over 12 days before it was eventually contained.

The Ofunato wildfire is the largest in decades, surpassing the 1975 blaze in Kushiro, Hokkaido, which burned 2,700 hectares.