With two of the remaining fires close to being under control, only three wildfires are still burning out of control, according to sources with the fire prevention office under the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government.

More than 5,000 local people, including 1,500 forest rangers, have been mobilized for fire fighting. No casualties have so far been reported.

The fires, which started on July 27, were mainly caused by lightning strikes. Experts also blamed the incessant dry, hot weather in the region.

Officials from the fire fighting command centre at the scene said that firefighters were confident of bringing all blazes under effective control within the next one or two days.

In addition, all necessary preparations have been made to try to induce artificial rain if and when conditions are right, according to Xinhua reports.

According to Xinhua, the State Forestry Administration has urged relevant departments to take measures to prevent more fires in the northern part of the country, where it remains hot and dry and the fire danger is high.

The administration also urged that fires be reported as soon as possible so they can be extinguished before they spread widely.

Since July, the northern part of China has experienced hot and dry weather and rainfall in the region has been nearly 60 percent less than in the same period in recent years.

(China Daily August 9, 2002)