A forest fire burning along the China-Mongolia border has been extinguished on the Chinese side, local officials said on Tuesday.

The fire, stretching some seven kilometers across, was spotted at 5:00 PM on Friday to the west of Hinggan League in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Propelled by high winds, the fire moved rapidly towards the China-Mongolia border.

At 10:00 AM Saturday, the fire crossed into the Hinggan League and local government dispatched 140 firefighters and 50 forest rangers to fight it.

Another fire raging in virgin forest in Inner Mongolia was put out last Tuesday morning. Forests in north China are now vulnerable to fires as the dry autumn period sets in.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2006)