Mentally ill man blamed for SW China forest fire
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![A helicopter fights the fire which broke out Tuesday in a forest in Baoshan City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 8, 2011. [Photo: Chinanews.com]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110309/0019b93bd68d0ee12c5f01.jpg "A helicopter fights the fire which broke out Tuesday in a forest in Baoshan City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 8, 2011. [Photo: Chinanews.com]") |
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A helicopter fights the fire which broke out Tuesday in a forest in Baoshan City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 8, 2011. [Photo: Chinanews.com] |
The initial investigation into a fire that engulfed 400 mu (26.7 hectares) of a forest in southwest China's Yunnan Province indicated that arson was to blame.
Police say a mentally ill man is to blame for a forest fire in southwest China's Yunnan Province that raged for a day before being extinguished Wednesday morning.
The man wandered into a forest of Baoshan City and lit a fire with his lighter around 11 a.m. Tuesday, local police said.
It quickly spread engulfing 400 mu (26.7 hectares) of forest and threatened a 300-year-old Buddhist temple nearby.
Around 1,500 people and one helicopter fought the fire which was put out by 8 a.m. Wednesday.
No causalities have been reported, and the fire did not damage the temple.
About 3,000 forest police officers and soldiers battled the fire, with a helicopter joining them.
