A forest fire that had apparently been put out in the Greater Hinggan Mountains in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province revived Wednesday afternoon and is now spreading.

 

The blaze was first spotted on Monday afternoon in the Hannuohe forestry area and it soon spread across some 15 square kilometers of forest.

 

More than 8,700 people and 10 helicopters were mobilized to fight the fire, which was put out at 3:30 AM Wednesday.

 

But when a strong 50-60 kph wind blew up in the afternoon, the fire revived and started to spread.

 

Local weather forecasts said that the wind in the area would remain strong tonight, which will make it difficult for fire-fighters to control the fire.

 

Separately, about 90 firemen are trying to bring a forest fire in north China's Inner Mongolia under control.

 

The fire, which broke out at noon Wednesday, is attacking forests in the Sandaoqiao area of Hulunbeir City. Fanned by a northwest wind, it is spreading quickly.

 

It is not known how much acreage has been lost to the flames.

 

This is the sixth forest fire in Hulunbeir in the space of a month.

 

The Greater Hinggan Mountains region, where China's largest virgin forest reserve lies, was ravaged by major forest fires on May 6, 1987, causing huge economic losses and many casualties.

 

Mohe County in the province was the victim of the fire which claimed 211 lives and injured 246, a result from smaller fires started by a forest worker's improper use of a machine and two other workers who were smoking.

 

After the disaster, a memorial hall was built in the county to increase people's fire consciousness, and May 6 was designated "Fire Day" and May, "Fire Month".

 

The Heilongjiang provincial government held an urgent meeting on Tuesday night, calling on local authorities to impose strict supervision over forest areas to guard against other possible forest fires.

 

Local governments and the forest fire-control authorities at various levels were told to keep a close eye on any field fires that may spread to forests, and all the officials concerned were warned against negligence of duty.

 

The province is facing a very severe situation in fighting forest fires, because a dry spell with many strong-wind days has lasted a long period of time in the northern regions, which may easily lead to forest fires, according to the meeting.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2007)