Coal mines, chemical plants close following forest fire

Nine coal mines and nine enterprises of chemical products were shut down for safety concerns as a forest fire has not been extinguished in Qinyuan County, north China's Shanxi Province, a local official said Monday.
 
Explosives in warehouses have been moved to safe places, and no casualties have been reported so far, Wang Yanfeng, deputy commander of the Qinyuan fire-fighting task force, said during a press conference. The fire broke out on Friday afternoon.
 
Currently, there are 15,234 people fighting at the frontline, with 13 fire-fighting helicopters. Residents of 41 villages and employees of 18 companies have been evacuated to safe places.
 
Fire-fighters have carved out a 40-km-long isolation belt. A second 6-km-long fire isolation belt is being bulldozed, according to Wang.
 
In addition, another eight forest fires have occurred in Shanxi since February 3. A total of 23 people have been detained on suspicion of causing these fires.