About 4,000 fire-fighters are struggling to control a fire spreading through virgin forest in Tibet Autonomous Region, said local sources on Friday.
Thick smoke was spotted at about 5:10 p.m. on Thursday in a forest four kilometers from the Bayi township, in the Nyingchi Prefecture, southeast Tibet.
Strong winds had fanned the fire and by 6:00 a.m. on Friday, the fire has moved four to five kilometers, said Yulha, vice commissioner of the prefecture administrative office.
Fire-fighters had dug three firebreaks to prevent the blaze from reaching local hospitals, schools, villages and the No. 318 national highway, Yulha said.
No casualties have been reported.
Hu Chuyang, a senior engineer with the Tibet observatory, said rain was forecast for the area over the weekend. “It won’t extinguish the fire, but would be helpful curbing its spread,” he said.
