Firefighters at the front line fighting the mountain fire in Chongqing Photo: Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade

Over the past few days, a number of forest fires have broken out in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and its surrounding areas due to the extreme dry and hot weather. Rescue workers and volunteers from neighboring provinces quickly went to Chongqing to help the rescue operations, which moved a lot of people across the country.

As of early Friday morning, nearly all mountain fires in Chongqing and surrounding areas have been extinguished, with a small amount of residual fire being cleared by firefighters, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. No casualties have been reported.

Southwest China's Yunnan Province, which is adjacent to Chongqing, was one of the first provinces to send a rescue team to Chongqing. The first batch of firefighters from Kunming, capital city of Yunnan, left at 4:30 am Wednesday and arrived in Chongqing around 6:30 pm. After a short rest, they went straight to the fire scene on a mountain in Beibei district, Zhang Ruikun from the Kunming forest firefighting department told the Global Times on Thursday.

"When we set out from Kunming, the temperature was only 24 C, but when we got to Chongqing, the temperature reached 42 C. If you are by the fire, the temperature may be as high as 60 C," Zhang said. "Many firefighters experience physical discomfort, dehydration or heat stroke."

Firefighters at the front line fighting the mountain fire in Chongqing Photo: Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade

The fire fighter appeared moved when recalling the help from the local people. "They voluntarily brought their refrigerators to make ice and delivered icy drinking water for the firefighters."

As of Thursday morning, the total number of people dispatched by the Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade to fight the forest fires in Chongqing had reached 736, the Yunnan Fire Brigade told the Global Times. Among them, the farthest reinforcement team had traveled more than 1,300 kilometers to reach the scene.

Talking about the spread of the mountain fires, Zhang said the Chongqing government has already made proper and prompt response. The reason why the fires were not put out quickly was because the temperature was very high, the mountain terrain was particularly complicated and the wind was unstable. "This has led to the start of new fires after extinguishments, which is one of the main reasons why the current has not been completely extinguished."

The Global Times has learned that in order to address Chongqing's drought, the China Meteorological Administration has dispatched a high-performance aircraft to aid the city to increase rainfall and combat the drought, and has sent experts to provide guidance on rainfall operations.

Zhang was also impressed by the social responsibility of the motorcycle enthusiasts in Chongqing. Chongqing is a mountainous city and home to a large number of motorcycle enthusiasts. The motorcycle riders who "went against the current" towards the mountain fires have also been continuously reported by the media in recent days.

"Our troop carriers and equipment vehicles simply cannot approach the fire scenes due to terrains," he said. "So the people of Chongqing took it upon themselves to organize off-road motorcycle teams specifically to carry food and water to the front lines for resupply."

"When our vehicles cannot get close to the fire line, the motorcyclists came to transfer firefighters and equipment to the front line of the fire, which greatly saves the rescuers' energy for firefighting."

A Chongqing citizen also told the Global Times on Thursday that the volunteer motorcyclists have played a big role and are a powerful support to the regular rescue efforts.

Many recruiting messages for volunteers are posted on major social media platforms. The Global Times has learned that many volunteer recruitments are currently suspended due to the high number of applicants.

Among the many groups of temporary volunteers in Chongqing, Francis Stonier, a volunteer from the US, has received a lot of public attention and compliment. Although not entirely fluent in speaking Chinese, the professor of education at Southwest University in Chongqing rushed to the scene of the fire when he discovered that professionals with chainsaws were needed.

"I was just trying to do my part," Stonier told the Global Times on Thursday. "I used to volunteer a lot in the US for different things and certainly when there are emergencies. Now Chongqing is my home. When there's a problem, I certainly felt the need to volunteer and help out."

As of 7 pm Thursday, a total of more than 14,000 people at all levels of rescue forces, more than 3,100 units of forest firefighting equipment, and 10 helicopters have participated in fighting the forest fires in Chongqing. More than 680 households and over 1,800 people have been transferred to safe places, The Paper reported.

Rescue vehicles from Yunnan rush to the scene of the mountain fire in Chongqing. Photo: Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade