A Level-4 emergency response has been activated to combat the raging forest fire in southwest China's Sichuan Province, announced China's Ministry of Emergency Management on Sunday.
As of 2 a.m. on Sunday, 930 personnel had been dispatched to battle the forest fire, with an additional 775 rushing to the site, according to local authorities.
Firefighters trying to contain fire in Baizi Village, Yajiang County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze, Sichuan Province, southwest China, March 16, 2024. /CFP
A firefighter trying to put out fire in Baizi Village, Yajiang County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze, Sichuan Province, southwest China, March 16, 2024. /CFP
The fire erupted in Baizi Village, Yajiang County, in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze, at around 5 p.m. on Friday. Due to sudden increases in wind speed, it rapidly spread to other areas, reported the headquarters of forest and grassland fire prevention and control in Garze.
Eight helicopters were deployed to extinguish the blaze.
By Sunday morning, several local residents mentioned that the fire was not visible from the county seat and that water, electricity, and communication services remained unaffected, as reported by China's Xinhua News Agency.
So far, no casualties have been reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
(Cover image via CFP, with input from Xinhua)