A forest fire in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was put out
on Thursday with no reported casualties, according to local fire
control headquarters.
About 3,300 police and firemen fought the blaze. It started on
Tuesday as a result of lightning strikes.
The inferno engulfed some 8,300 hectares of camphor pine forest
in Ewenki Autonomous Banner of Hulun Buir City.
It was moving towards a town inhabited by 4,200 people on
Wednesday evening, but reinforced firefighting efforts stopped it
in its wake.
Two planes and 22 water rockets were used on Thursday morning to
make rain and some sleet, which helped a great deal in putting the
fire out, the headquarters said.
Strong winds, consistently high temperatures, thick grass cover
in the oil-rich camphor pine forest and a weak fire control
infrastructure made firefighting difficult, according to officials
with the local forestry bureau.
The forest is a state-level nature reserve covering 119,000
hectares of land, and is China's largest virgin camphor pine
area.
(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2006)