Wildfires devastate homes, prompt evacuations

Countryside ablaze: Forest fires raging in Okayama. — AP

Wildfires have hit several regions in western Japan, injuring at least two people, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate and damaging a number of homes as hundreds of firefighters battled the widening blazes in the mountainous areas.

The fires in the western towns of Okayama, Imabari and Aso broke out on Sunday, quickly burning hundreds of hectares.