One section of Sichuan forest fire extingushed

One of the three main branches of a forest fire in Yajiang county of Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province has been extinguished thanks to the vigorous efforts of some 1,200 workers, according to the Sichuan Forest Fire Brigade.

Crews continue to work to extinguish other burning sections. Members of the brigade's branches in the city of Panzhihua, Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, and in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, arrived in Yajiang and started working at the site of the second blaze early on Monday.

The forest fire broke out in Yajiang at around 5 pm on Friday near Baizi village and spread to a larger area, driven by a sudden increase in wind on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The fire had consisted of three main sections, with control made more difficult by unpredictable wind shifts that spread the blaze in multiple directions.

From Sunday evening to early Monday, fire approached residences near the PetroChina gas station in Yajiang. Firefighters quickly laid hose lines and used water cannons to protect the homes.

In response to the fires, the National Meteorological Center activated emergency response measures to provide vital weather monitoring and forecasting support for the firefighting effort.

A key step involved refocusing the scope of satellite rapid imaging to Chengdu, which will enable closer and more frequent observation of the fire zone's weather patterns.