Akhir 1432 H. / 08 March 2011, SPA -- Fire-fighters are battling a forest fire that broke out at about 11:00 a.m. Tuesday in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to the local forest fire control center. By 4:00 p.m., the fire in Baoshan City was still spreading with three visible fire lines, Xinhua quoted the Yunnan Forest Fire Commanding Center as saying in a statement. No casualties have been reported so far, and some 400 people including forest police, paramilitary and military forces and local residents have been sent to put out the fire. The fire command center also had dispatched helicopters from Dali, about 180 kilometers northeast of Baoshan, to fight the fire. The center said it was hard to know the extent of the fire given large amounts of smoke amid strong gales. An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way, the center said.
