SICHUAN: A forest fire in Sichuan Province, Southwest China, escalated early Sunday morning following an abrupt increase in wind speed, reported China Central Television.
The blaze initially broke out near Baizi Village in the Yajiang County of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture at around 5 p.m. on Friday. The situation worsened dramatically around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday when sudden strong winds propelled the fire across various mountain ridges, leading to the creation of three principal fire zones.
In response to the growing emergency, a level-4 emergency protocol was enacted by the provincial emergency management department.
By 2 a.m. on Sunday, efforts to contain the fire had significantly ramped up, with 930 personnel already on the scene and an additional 775 en route.
To aid in extinguishing the flames, eight helicopters have been mobilized.
Fortunately, there have been no reported casualties linked to the incident so far.
Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
Source: Emirates
News Agency