Forest fire put out in Southwest China

CHENGDU -- A forest fire that lasted two days in Southwest China's Sichuan province was put out Wednesday afternoon, local authorities said Thursday.

The fire broke out Monday in a forest area in Jiulong county, Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture, forcing 32 residents to evacuate, said sources with the county government.

The blaze burned around 50 hectares of forest and grassland.

Since Monday, more than 1,000 firefighters and three helicopters have been dispatched to fight the fire, which was put out around 5:30 pm Wednesday.

Preliminary investigations showed that the fire was caused by an electric line at a construction site, according to the county forest fire control headquarters.