Thousands evacuated from forest fire in northern China

BEIJING - Thousands of people have been evacuated after a forest fire broke out in Qinyuan county, northern China's Shanxi province, on Friday, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

As of 7 am Saturday, more than 3,800 locals had been evacuated, the ministry said. No casualties were reported.

A total area of 360 hectares had been burnt, and over 1,700 firefighters had been dispatched.

A work team sent by the ministry has arrived at the site to help quench the blaze.

Previous report:

A forest fire broke out in Qinyuan county, northern China's Shanxi province at around 1:10 pm Friday, local authorities said.

Firefighters were dispatched to quench the blaze immediately after the fire started, but strong winds helped the quick spread of the blaze, according to sources with the provincial headquarters for prevention of forest fire.

Satellite monitoring data showed the fire had spread over an area of 28.6 square kilometers by 6 pm Friday.

The provincial government is attaching great importance to the situation and firefighters from other places are rushing to the site, the sources said.