Forest fires that devoured approximately 660
hectares of forests over the past few days in northeast China had
been put out by Friday night, according to firefighters.
Officials from Heilongjiang
Provincial Forest Fire Control Headquarters said that satellite
footage and inspections by air and firefighters on the ground
confirmed the fires were completely extinguished in Heihe City.
No casualties have been reported so far, officials
said.
Preliminary investigations indicated the fires were
started on Tuesday by a migrant farmer surnamed Li who was
illegally smoking in a field and accidentally ignited a haystack.
The suspect has been detained.
According to officials, because the forests in
north Heilongjiang have suffered drought since this summer, the
area has been hit by fires in July and August.
This fire, aided by drought and a southeasterly
wind, spread to forests nearby.
Three thousand forest police and local firefighters
are monitoring and clearing areas hit by the fires.
(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2005)