Forest Fire Breaks Out in SichuanOne forest ranger died when a forest fire broke out last Sunday in Yajiang County in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to local reports today.The fire occurred in a village 14 kilometers away from a town in Yajiang County. A temporary firefighter headquarters was set up immediately. "Despite all the efforts taken to extinguish the fire, it is difficult to control the flames as a result of high temperatures, dry climate and strong winds," said Renqing Dengzhu, deputy head of the Yajiang County Forestry Bureau. A wooded area of 60 hectares or more was on fire this afternoon. The fire is just 5 kilometers away from a nearby virgin forest, he added. The headquarters has dispatched an additional 280 firefighters to the spot. The People's Liberation Army units in Yajiang County and local militia units have sent 1,000 men to build fire insulation zones. Yajiang was hit by an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale on February 14. |
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