Yunnan province extinguishes third fire in holiday week

Firefighters have put out the flames that had engulfed forests in southwest China's Yunnan province since Wednesday night, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The fire raged through at least 13 hectares of forests in the mountains of Hanzhuang Township in Longyang District of Baoshan City, said Ding Changji, the city's deputy mayor.

Local authorities received reports of the fire at 8 p.m. Wednesday and more than 600 firefighters joined the rescue efforts, he said.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, all visible flames had been extinguished, said Ding, who blamed dry weather and strong winds for the fire.

It was the third forest fire to break out in Yunnan during the week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. The previous two fires were reported on Saturday and Tuesday in the scenic city of Dali and Jinning county, respectively.