Water curtains shield World Heritage houses in central Japan

A fire drill was conducted at World Heritage site in central Japan to protect the traditional steep-angled, thatched houses by creating water curtains. The drill in Ogimachi district of Shirakawa Village is held every year around this time.
On Sunday, villagers and volunteer firefighters sprayed water from water cannons, creating dozens of water curtains to protect the houses from sparks. The district has 59 inhabited houses with thatched roofs. It had the same number of water cannons until last year, but discovered that they were not enough to cover all of the structures.
Therefore, an additional one was installed this year, bringing the total to 60. A participant said the drill is indispensable to protect the World Heritage site and even conducting it once a year would be useful in case of an emergency. The district bans fireworks and bonfires to prevent fires and people not to smoke outside designated areas.