The annual Yamayaki festival heralds the arrival of spring in Akiyoshidai. The fire reached a height of about 10 meters and spread across an area of grassland approximately 1,138 hectares in size.
In just over two hours, the golden yellow mountain surface had turned to black ash. A 71-year-old man who was visiting with his wife from Ube City said, ``When the grass nearby was on fire, it was so hot and powerful that I had to back away''