Forest fires decrease in first eight months

China recorded 3,750 forest fires from January to August, a decrease of 27 percent from a year earlier, sources with the State Forestry Administration (SFA) said in Beijing Thursday.

Experts attributed the drop to the early warning mechanism and the sweeping check, report and control system for hidden dangers.

The sources predicted that forest fire prevention in autumn and winter would still be a tough job in north, northeast and south China where trees were damaged after typhoons, floods and mudslides.

The SFA urged local governments in those areas to enhance monitoring of forests, detect and eliminate hidden fire hazards, launch a general inspection of forest safety and make contingency plans to deal with forest fires.