BEIJING - An 11-year-old girl who was burned while trying to put out a mountain fire in North China's Hebei province is receiving treatment and various forms of assistance.

Li Pei, who hails from Baoding, Hebei province, was taken from a local hospital to the Air Force General Hospital in Beijing on Sunday.

Li Pei, lying in bed, is taken care of by a nurse and her mother at an intensive care unit in the Air Force General Hospital in Beijing on Friday. Zhang Wei / China Daily

Li's mother, Wei Baohua, said the family transferred Li in the hope that three toes hurt in the fire can be saved from amputation.

Eleven-year-old Li's injuries originated in an attempt to put out a fire in the bushes in her village on Jan 15. The girl suffered burns from her feet to her lower waist.

According to Zou Xiaofang, one of the doctors treating Li, 55 percent of her skin was burned.

"I really didn't expect the injuries to be so severe," Wei said.

"My husband, my son and I were then out with a friend when somebody in our village told us, 'Your daughter was hurt in that fire.' When we got back there, we saw that our daughter was sitting still there, although her pants and shoes were gone."

Wei said the flames first set Li's shoelaces ablaze and then moved up to her pants.

"The girl has undergone surgery twice before," Zou said. "Now her condition is still unsteady ... We plan to perform a skin graft in a week."

Despite the quick schedule for that procedure, it will be several months before Li leaves the hospital. And she will have to undergo further operations later in life.

"Bones grow much faster than grafted skin does and that may hinder joint movement."

Zou, who has worked for 11 years as a surgeon treating burns and scalds, said his department receives more than 200 kids with burns or scalds every year.

"Unlike adults, kids tend to be unaware of dangers and are likely to be burned or scalded," Zou said. "Children who are 3 years old or younger are most prone to being hurt in this way."

Wei said her family borrowed more than 120,000 yuan ($19,000) to treat her daughter and spent all of that on the treatment before coming to Beijing.

For Wei, a housewife, and her husband, a migrant worker, the good news is that the Hebei Youth Development Foundation established a bank account to be used for treating children with burns. An endowment drive has been held for Li, raising 470,000 yuan for the account.

The family has also received 340,000 yuan in direct donations.

"I don't know if this is enough money to cover the treatment," Wei said. "(But) I told Wang Xiaodong, head of Baoding Loving Heart Volunteers Union, that if there is money left after the treatment, I will donate it to other people in need."

To take care of Li, she and her husband live in the ward.

Wang Xiaodong, who is also assistant director-general of the Online Volunteers Union of Hebei Province, said he received a call asking for help from the Red Cross on Jan 31. He went to the Internet the next day to seek more assistance.

"We opened the account on Feb 3, and it has drawn a lot of attention," he said. "The donors to it range from enterprises to individuals. Li Pei's family will be able to continue to receive donations.

"If there is any money left after the treatment, and if the kid's parents, the donors and the foundation all agree, we will channel the money to other kids who need help. We are also working on a contract with the media so that they and the public can better supervise the money (in the burn-treatment bank account)."