Forest fire in Sichuan brought under control
Forest fire in Sichuan brought under control
9June 2005
publishedby news.xinhuanet.com
Fire fighters have halted the spread of a forest fire that swept across atleast 1,600 hectares of woods in southwestern Sichuan Province, local governmentannounced Thursday.
No casualties were reported.
The fire, which was caused by an explosion detonatedby local geological surveyors, broke out at the Muli Tibet Autonomous County inLiangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan at 4:00 p.m. June 1, according tothe provincial forest fire control office.
More than 3,000 firefighters were organized to putout the fire through artificial rainfall and other means.
“The fire in most areas was extinguished andabout 1,900 people are putting out the ember. The area of forest burned andexact losses are under investigation” said an official with the office.
Muli County boasts the largest forest reserves inSichuan. Thisis the third forest fire in the area in the past three weeks. Theprevious two fires were put out on May 24 and May 28 respectively.
The destroyed forest is located on a mountain ridgeabout 3,200 meters above sea level. Hot and dry weather conditions also add tothe difficulties in fire fighting, said the official.
