KUNMING, April 15 -- More than 4,500 people, including firefighters and soldiers, are battling a forest fire that broke out four days ago in southwest China's Yunnan Province, authorities said on Tuesday.

As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the fire had ripped through an area of 1,350 mu (90 hectares), said a spokesman with the Longyang District Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The blaze was first spotted in Ninan Mountain of Longyang District in Baoshan City at noon on Saturday.

Firefighters, soldiers, local officials and residents, are working to control the fire, said the spokesman.

The fire was contained at one point but then spread because of windy weather, he said.