The fire, in a forested area of the coastal city of Ofunato, killed at least one person and prompted evacuation orders for thousands of residents.

It has damaged dozens of homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate in the north eastern coastal city of Ofunato.

Thousands of residents in Japan were evacuated on Monday (March 3), after a wildfire spread to become the biggest fire in decades in the country, according to a local media report. Aerial footage aired by local broadcasters showed heavy white smoke rising and fires blazing at night from a forested area,

The fire also follows Japan's hottest summer on record last year, as climate change pushes up temperatures worldwide. As of Tuesday morning, the wildfire had engulfed around 2,600 hectares, the fire and disaster management agency said -- over seven times the area of New York's Central Park.