Chongqing snuffs out wildfires

Two wildfires that were extinguished by firefighters on Wednesday in Chongqing's Fuling district, reignited on Thursday night because of windy weather conditions and rare, dry, flammable vegetation in the woods in the continuing heat wave. No casualties or property loss were reported.

The first fire started at around 6 pm on Wednesday on a mountain near E'jingguan village on Fuling's Lizhi Street. At about 8 pm another blaze was spotted on a mountain in Yaoli township on the district's Jiangbei Street.

The local government organized forces to cope with the fires quickly, and the blazes were extinguished on Thursday afternoon. But on Thursday night, hot embers at two sites with complex terrain flared up again, driven by wind.

Emergency firefighting work is being carried out. At around 10 am on Thursday, a blaze flared in Nanping township in Chongqing's Nanchuan district.

At around 10 pm that day, fire broke out in Renlong village, in Zhiping township of Chongqing's Jiangjin district. Nearby residents have been evacuated and no causalities were reported.

Firefighting work in the two districts is being conducted by the local governments. The cause of the fires and flare-ups are under further investigation.

Chongqing has been baked by its worst heat wave since 1961 when nationwide observation statistics began. Temperatures soared to 45 C on Thursday.

With the scorching heat and lack of precipitation, Chongqing issued a red alert, the highest level warning, for forest fires and and prairie fires in most districts and counties from Aug 16 to 23.