China's southern areas were put on a high alert for forest fires due to the dry weather, said officials from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) on Tuesday.  

In addition to the weather influence, many forests in southern areas were bordered or alternated with farmlands, which would make it more difficult to control fires because of more human activities, the officials said.

The SFA has dispatched five work teams to key provinces and areas to inspect the fire prevention work, hoping to ensure a happy and safe Spring Festival for local people.

Related local departments were also urged to carry out their duty of controlling forest fires and to prohibit the public from starting fires in fields.

Earlier this month, a forest fire in Yulin City, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, killed 11 people and destroyed some 93 hectares of woods.

The end of last year also saw no ease in forest fires with a supervision satellite detecting frequent blazes in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces in eastern China, and Hunan province in central China.

Statistics from SFA show that China reported 550 forest fires in September and October last year, up 116.5 percent year-on-year.

The soaring figure was blamed on the grass burning by farmers and the lack of strict prevention and control measures in some areas.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2004)