A forest fire in north China's Hebei Province has been roughly put under control by Monday morning after burning for two days.

More than 1,860 soldiers and policemen, and over 1,000 civilians are still at the site to put out the ember.

Police have detained suspects who allegedly ignited the fire to burn bushes near farmland.

The fire fanned by gale wind has engulfed some 20 hectares of forest in Lingshou County, which is under the administration of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, some 250 km away from Beijing.

Neither human casualty nor evacuation were reported during the fire fighting, according to Che Jun, deputy secretary of Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, who is overseeing the fire control work.

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2009)