Work begins to remove debris left from massive fire in coastal city

A city on the Sea of Japan coast began Friday removing debris left behind on privately owned land from a massive fire that broke out last month destroying some 150 buildings and injuring 11 people.The Itoigawa city government in Niigata Prefecture said it plans to finish clearing up the debris by the end of March following the biggest fire in 20 years not caused by a natural disaster.The blaze on Dec. 22 destroyed about 150 houses in 40,000 square meters of the city. While most of the debris on the roads has been removed, workers still have to clear up the debris remaining on privately owne…READ FULL ARTICLE