Fire risk rises for parched capital

The capital's lengthy drought, which has culminated in almost 100 completely dry days, is raising the fire risk and threatening local agriculture.

"We are now at the highest grade of fire prevention and protection," Xia Chunlei, head of the fire prevention division in the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Fire Prevention, told Beijing Evening News this week.

"The city's 7,000 firefighters will be put to the test during Spring Festival if this drought continues."