Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Monday urged local authorities to "utilize all means possible" to put out forest fires that have recently occurred in southern China amid intense heat waves.

High temperatures and droughts have hit southern China's Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province and Guizhou Province in recent days, which has led to a greater risk of forest fires, Hui said.

He called for strict management in order to prevent new fires, adding that new protective measures should be adopted to ensure that local firefighters will be able to work safely and effectively.

According to Chongqing's forest fire prevention office, a forest fire broke out at about 1 a.m. Monday in two counties in Sichuan and Chongqing. More than 400 firefighters were mobilized to put out the fire. No casualties were reported as of 1 p.m. Monday.

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