More than 6,000 people have been enlisted to fight a forest fire
that has spread over an area of 233 hectares in a nature reserve in
southwest China's Yunnan Province, government sources said on
Friday.
The fire-fighting team, including army personnel, forestry
police and local residents, have built a firebreak belt which is
five kilometers long and 50 meters wide by early Friday, said
firefighting officials.
The fire started on Thursday morning on Cangshan Mountain, part
of the Cangshan and Erhai State Nature Reserve, a famous scenic
spot in the province.
By Friday noon, 90 percent of the blaze had been
extinguished.
"But we fear that the remaining fire may spread as high winds
were forecast Friday afternoon," said Wang Dexiang, a provincial
forestry official.
Investigators said the fire was caused by children who fled the
scene after the fire started.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2007)