Five forest fires have taken place on China's northeast border over the past three days, with three of them still burning as of Monday.

The fires have ripped off approximately 660 hectares of forests in the city of Heihe, Heilongjiang Province, without no casualty reported, according to a source of the local government.

A total of 2,128 firefighters and five helicopters have been sent to extinguish the fires, and three of the fires are still out of control as of Monday night.

In fact, the forests in the northern part of Heilongjiang were continuously ravaged by fires in summer because of a lasting drought, but there were not much loss thanks to the protection from the local forestry department, said a spokesman of the government, adding a gale that began on Saturday, however, aggravated the fire potential.

The gale is expected to last until Tuesday, according to the local meteorological department.

"The situation of fires is still severe," the spokesman said.
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(Xinhua News Agency October 4, 2005)