Mountain blaze out, another ignites

Hundreds of firefighters are battling a new fire in China's largest forest in the Greater Hinggan Mountains, authorities said on Tuesday.

The fire broke out about 12:15 pm on Tuesday in the Beidahe forest in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, regional fire authorities said.

More than 700 People's Armed Police soldiers have been mobilized to extinguish the blaze. Strong winds and mountainous terrain are making their work difficult, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The cause of the fire was unknown.

A fire that extended from Russia to a primeval forest in the region broke out on Sunday. It has been put out and cleanup was proceeding on Tuesday.

That fire started in Russia and spread across the border on Sunday afternoon into the Yimuhe forest in the northern Greater Hinggan Mountains, according to local forest administration officials. They said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

By late Monday night, more than 1,300 firefighters and Armed Police soldiers had extinguished the fire. Steps were being taken to prevent the fire from reigniting, according to the forest administration.

Tian Shoulei, a captain of the local Armed Police who led his team in the firefighting mission, said on Monday night at the Yimuhe forest that it was "fairly challenging" to put out the fire because of the strong wind and the thick covering of flammable material on the ground.

"We arrived at 10 this morning." Tian said. "Soldiers have continuously worked on the front for eight hours without any rest. They are exhausted. But we are confident that we will firmly follow orders from our leaders and fully accomplish this firefighting mission."

The fire was deep in the forest on a mountain near the China-Russia boarder, with no road access. The Armed Police sent troops by helicopter to fight the fire. As the smoke was too heavy to safely land on Sunday evening, the troops were dispatched hours later before dawn on Monday, according to the local Armed Police.

Soldiers and firefighting professionals used water and chemicals to control the blaze. A 2.8-kilometer fire barrier zone was created to prevent further threats.

This spring, the temperature in Inner Mongolia is 1 to 2 C higher than the average from previous years, increasing the fire risk due to the dry conditions of the region's forests.

Contact the writers at chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn