Firefighters make progress on multiple fronts at Shanxi fire, no casualties reported

Rescue forces work to extinguish the mountain fire in Huguan county, Shanxi province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The mountain fire that erupted in Huguan county, Shanxi province, was under control on the southern, western and southeastern fronts as of 7:00 am on Tuesday, with no casualties reported, local authorities said.

The fire broke out at 10:30 am on Monday. Fueled by strong winds and the dense vegetation of pine trees and shrubs, the fire rapidly spread to surrounding areas.

The local fire command authorities activated a level-four emergency response for forest fires, mobilizing over 600 personnel from the city's specialized forest fire prevention teams, 116 firefighters from the city's fire rescue team and more than 2,000 semi-professional personnel.

Rescue forces work to extinguish the mountain fire in Huguan county, Shanxi province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The operation also deployed three helicopters, over 50 heavy engineering machinery units and over 70 water trucks to combat the blaze.

Furthermore, provincial-level rescue forces are on their way to the site. The forest firefighting professionals and forest aviation firefighting aircraft have been dispatched to reinforce the rescue operation.

Around 10:00 am on Monday, a villager surnamed Bao carelessly discarded a burning cigarette butt on the ground while working in the field, igniting the fire, according to the local police.

Currently, efforts are focused on extinguishing the fire on the northern and northeastern fronts.

Guo Yanqi contributed to this story.

Rescue forces work to extinguish the mountain fire in Huguan county, Shanxi province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]