Tokyo: Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces have joined firefighting operations in western prefectures Okayama and Ehime, with evacuations ordered for nearly 2,700 local residents, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Hayashi stated at a press conference that wildfires broke out in Okayama city and Imabari, Ehime prefecture. He mentioned that helicopters from the Ground Self-Defense Forces were dispatched to assist local firefighters following requests for help from the governors of both prefectures.

The wildfires have spread across 128 hectares in Ehime and 250 hectares in Okayama. Evacuation orders have been issued for 403 families, totaling 893 people, in Okayama city; 219 families, or 381 people, in Imabari; and 792 families, or 1,506 people, in Saijo, Ehime prefecture.

Japan’s last major wildfire occurred in Ofunato, a city in the northeast, burning for 12 days and destroying 2,900 hectares, which is about 9% of the city’s total area. That incident led to the evacuation of 4,600 people and caused damage to at least 210 buildings.