A fire in virgin forest in northeast China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was
extinguished on Tuesday morning, according to local
authorities.
The blaze, which broke out on four sites in the northern Greater
Hinggan Mountains near the China-Russia border on Saturday, had
destroyed at least 35 hectares of forest, said an official with the
regional government, adding that exact losses were still being
counted.
The fire was caused by a lightning strike, said the
official.
More than five hundred people, mostly soldiers, struggled to put
out the fire, and the State Forestry Administration sent three
helicopters to help.
Fire fighters were still patrolling the area to prevent the fire
flaring up again. "Luckily, the wind is not strong and the sites
are not likely to see a second fire," said the official.
The fire risk in the Great Hinggan Ling Mountains, with 8.08
million hectares of forest, has increased as the dry autumn period
sets in.
(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2006)