THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS WILDFIRE RAGES IN CHINA’S SICHUAN PROVINCE

Tue 19 March 2024:

More than 3,300 people have been evacuated as a wildfire spreads through a Tibetan-populated county in China’s Sichuan province, Chinese state media and three people with knowledge of the situation said Monday.

The fire that started on Friday in the rural area of Yajiang County in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is still not under control, according to the Chinese media.

So far, 3,396 people from nearby villages have been evacuated, and communication with employees of the region’s hydroelectric power plant could not be established.

The Emergency Ministry reported that the fire spread to mountain slopes on Saturday afternoon due to strong winds.

Firefighters dispatched

Chinese state media reported that more than 1,200 firefighters and eight helicopters had been dispatched to fight the fire, with a reinforcement of 750 more firefighters expected from neighboring Yunnan province, according to Chinese media.

The Jamyang Choekhorling Monastery, founded by popular Tibetan religious leader and activist Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, as well as the Pamo Monastery near Paomo Mountain, are located close to an area where the fire is spreading rapidly, the sources said.

The fire also has burned to the ground about 30 houses in the nearby villages, said the second source from inside Tibet.

“The fire is spreading very fast because of the direction of the wind,” he told RFA. “If we put it out in one area, it starts in another.”

Firefighters, local Chinese authorities and Tibetan residents are all working to stem the spread of the fire and to ensure minimum damage to homes, monasteries and animals, he added.

Chinese authorities have warned Tibetans not to share photos or videos of the fire on social media platforms or with contacts abroad, or face arrest, said the first source from inside Tibet.

State media reported that authorities temporarily closed a highway passing through the region and that communication with a hydroelectric station has been interrupted.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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