Forest fire prevention group dispatched to Yunnan

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration has dispatched a working group to Yunnan province to coordinate and guide fire prevention work, in response to the high risk of forest fires in the province in recent days, the administration said on Thursday.

According to a news release from the administration, the risk level of forest fires is high in Yunnan province, as the number of hotspots detected by satellite remote sensing for forest fires in the province has increased, making the fire prevention situation severe.

The group members organized relevant departments to analyze the current fire prevention and extinguishing situation, and to plan and arrange forest and grassland fire prevention work upon their arrival.

They emphasized several key points in fire prevention work, including making effective emergency preparations for the most extreme circumstances; strengthening management of outdoor fires; increasing publicity and education efforts; and swiftly investigating, handling and resolving recent forest fire incidents, so that the trend of frequent forest fires could be reversed, the administration said.

The group members will also carefully assess the recent phenological and meteorological conditions, and formulate personnel evacuation and relocation plans to ensure people's safety, it said.