Nearby forest fire put out

A forest fire was finally extinguished yesterday afternoon outside Beijing in neighboring Hebei Province. The cause of the inferno, which had been ablaze for three days, is still under investigations, authorities said.

The fire was spotted on Friday in a village of Xuanhua county near Zhangjiakou before spreading to Zhulu county, 130 kilometers away from the Beijing city center, home to an important greenbelt surrounding the capital.　

The fire was said to be threatening Huangyangshan National Forest Park located in Zhulu county, which serves as a natural barrier against sandstorms, according to China News Service reports.

A total of 1,200 Beijing Regional Military personnel have been dispatched to the region to extinguish the fire, along with two water-bombing helicopters.　

No casualties had been reported as of yesterday. The officials did not reveal the extent of the fire.

"Over 5,000 people, including soldiers, firefighters, and local residents have participated in battling the remaining fires in the eastern area," an official surnamed Zhang from the CFFM told the Global Times yesterday.

Though large portions of the blaze were extinguished on Friday, sudden evening winds rekindled embers, causing the fire to spread, China News Service reported.

The fire was put out at 4 pm yesterday, the Xinhua News Agency said.

Firefighting personnel had established a 30-meter-wide fire line stretching two kilometers to isolate the remaining forest fire as of 6 pm Saturday.　

"Steep hills, thick forest and deep valleys have made efforts to control the blaze more difficult," said Liu Zhenli, an army commander involved in firefighting efforts as quoted by the China News Service.

Forest fires are a constant threat for the capital, especially in dry and windy seasons of the year.

Some 130 firefighters responded to a separate fire in the hilly county of Yanqing on Saturday.

They put out the flames in an hour, according to the State Forestry Administration.