Firefighters have brought a fire devouring a virgin forest in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region under control, a local official said Thursday.

 

Nearly 2,000 people, including firemen, army soldiers, forestry police, armed policemen and local residents have dug ditches 50 by1,700 meters on the two sides of the fire to stop it from spreading, said Gyaincain, deputy chief of the local fire brigade.

 

The fire broke out at about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday in the virgin forest near the county seat of Bomi in Nyingchi Prefecture.

 

The Nyingchi meteorological bureau made artificial rain on Wednesday night to help fight the fire.

 

There were no reports on casualties.

 

Nyingchi has had rare high temperatures over the past month. On July 17, the temperature hit 31.2 degrees Celsius in Bomi, equaling the highest ever temperature on record.

 

Bomi is about 680 km east of the regional capital of Lhasa. It covers 16,000 square km and has a population of 31,000. The county seat is situated at Zhamog Town.

 

Investigations into the cause of the fire are underway.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2006)