A forest fire is raging out of control in northern China and is fast approaching a town with a population of over 4,200. Firefighters are working to block the blaze.

 

The fire, moving east with the strong winds, was about 10 kilometers away from Honghuaerji Town in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region by Wednesday evening, according to firemen at the scene.

 

The local government has worked out a plan to evacuate people in case of an emergency.

 

Around 2,400 police and firefighters are on their way to reinforce the 1,400-strong firefighting team to stop the fire from spreading.

 

The town is comprised mainly of Ewenki, Mongolian, Han, and Hui ethnic minorities.

 

Fire control headquarters said that rockets have been prepared to make it rain during the night in a bid to tame the fire by early Thursday morning.

 

The blaze, which broke out on Tuesday evening as a result of lightning, had engulfed more than 10,000 hectares of camphor pine forest in the Ewenki Autonomous Banner of Hulun Buir City by Wednesday afternoon.

 

No casualties have been reported, according to the local forestry bureau.

 

Persistently high temperatures of about 28 degrees Celsius, strong winds, thick grass cover in the oil-rich camphor pine forest, and a weak fire control infrastructure have made firefighting difficult, according to officials with the local forestry bureau and firefighting headquarters.

 

The state-level nature reserve, covering 119,000 hectares of land, is China's largest virgin camphor pine forest.

 

The State Forestry Bureau has issued an emergency circular saying that northeastern China and Inner Mongolia, which are prone to forest fires in spring, are to beef up fire prevention and forest administration efforts.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2006)