More than 1,600 armed police and firefighters are still trying
to put out forest fires in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province,
sources with local government said Saturday.
By 6:00 PM Saturday, the blazes in the western and eastern areas
have been put out, and more than 1,600 people are still making
efforts to exterminate the fire in the northern areas of the
forest, officials with the Yichun city said.
The blazes were spotted at 10:00 a.m. Friday in the forest areas
between Heihe City and Yichun City, bordering the Lesser Hinggan
Mountains in Heilongjiang Province.
About 3,530 people have been mobilized to fight the fire. Local
meteorological staffs induced artificial rains to help quench the
flames.
Severe drought since this summer and higher-than-usual
temperatures have been been increasing fire risks to the forest
areas as well as the Lesser Hinggan Mountains and the Greater
Hinggan Mountains, the country's largest forest zone.
(Xinhua News Agency October 7, 2007)