A fire in virgin forest in northeast China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was extinguished on Tuesday morning, according to local authorities.

The blaze, which broke out on four sites in the northern Greater Hinggan Mountains near the China-Russia border on Saturday, had destroyed at least 35 hectares of forest, said an official with the regional government, adding that exact losses were still being counted.

The fire was caused by a lightning strike, said the official.

More than five hundred people, mostly soldiers, struggled to put out the fire, and the State Forestry Administration sent three helicopters to help.

Fire fighters were still patrolling the area to prevent the fire flaring up again. "Luckily, the wind is not strong and the sites are not likely to see a second fire," said the official.

The fire risk in the Great Hinggan Ling Mountains, with 8.08 million hectares of forest, has increased as the dry autumn period sets in.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2006)