SOMA, Japan (AP) _ Japan's nuclear safety agency says a fire in a reactor at a crippled nuclear power plant in tsunami-ravaged northeastern Japan has been extinguished.

The fire broke out Tuesday at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in one of the hardest-hit provinces in last week's massive earthquake and tsunami.

Meanwhile, radiation was spewing from the Dai-ichi plant in a dramatic escalation of the 4-day-old catastrophe, forcing the government to tell people nearby to stay indoors to avoid exposure.

In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from four reactors and told people living within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the Dai-ichi complex to stay indoors to avoid radiation sickness.