Newspaper reports yesterday stated the blaze was spreading and putting rare plants and birds at risk.

Government officials in the region have tightened efforts to control the blaze, which began on April 27.

The Kekesu Marshland National Reserve area extends 3,300 hectares near the E'erqisi River and is one of the most important marshlands in the region.

Persistent high winds have dogged attempts to put out the blaze over the past week, local government sources said.

An official was quoted by Beijing Youth Daily as saying a wind of force eight to 10 swept the marshland on April 29, fanning the flames of the blaze which local firefighters had brought under control.

Soon a 1-kilometre-wide and 3-metre-high flame took hold and left firefighters stranded.

It was not until early the next morning that rescue teams reached the stranded firefighters.

The newspaper said local government officials have taken reasonable measures to control the spread of the fire, and had promised to do their best to limit the damage.

Food and clothes have been sent to those forced from their homes by the fire, and local residents are also donating daily necessities.

The reason of the fire is under investigation.

Another fire struck Genhe in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on May 1 and engulfed 524 homes.

Genhe government sources said the blaze spiralled out of control after a residential house accidentally caught fire in Mangui County.

More than 1,000 fire-fighters tackled the blaze at its height and managed to distinguish it before it spread to nearby forests.

There were also reports of a grass fire originating in Russia that spread the border into Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on May 1.

The blaze has been brought under control but concerns remain that the region is vulnerable to wild fires after a lack of rainfall over winter and spring.

(China Daily May 5, 2003)