Rain appears to have halted the spread of Japan's worst wildfire in more than half a century, officials said Thursday, as residents expressed relief the smoke was gone.

Japan battled its worst wildfire in half a century on Wednesday in a region hit by record-low rainfall, as wet weather gave hope for some relief. The blaze around the northern city of Ofunato has raged for more than a week,

A massive forest fire has engulfed parts of Ofunato, a northeastern coastal city in Japan, damaging dozens of homes and forcing thousands to evacuate. The fire, which began last Wednesday, has now spread across approximately 2,