About 4,000 fire-fighters are struggling to control a fire
spreading through virgin forest in Tibet Autonomous Region, said local sources on
Friday.
Thick smoke was spotted at about 5:10 PM on Thursday in a forest
four kilometers from the Bayi Town, in the Nyingchi Prefecture,
southeast Tibet.
Strong winds had fanned the fire and by 6:00 AM on Friday, the
fire has moved four to five kilometers, said Yulha, vice
commissioner of the prefecture administrative office.
Fire-fighters had dug three firebreaks to prevent the blaze from
reaching local hospitals, schools, villages and the No. 318
national highway, Yulha said.
No casualties have been reported.
Hu Chuyang, a senior engineer with the Tibet observatory, said
rain was forecast for the area over the weekend. "It won't
extinguish the fire, but would be helpful curbing its spread," he
said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2007)