Hundreds of firefighters and trained auxiliary groups are battling a forest fire in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The blaze broke out at around 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday in Ma'an Village, a mountainous area of the prefecture's Mianning County. The area is dense in shrubs and pine trees, and is experiencing strong unpredictable winds. This has helped the fire to spread rapidly.

Firefighters are leading a team of nearly 1,000 people at the scene. Helicopters have also been deployed to extinguish the blaze.

No casualties have been reported so far.

Forest fires are frequent in Liangshan prefecture due to the weather and the natural environment. Nineteen people were killed in a fire in March last year, and 31 lives were lost in a fire in 2019.