CHENGDU, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Over 2,800 firefighters are still battling the forest fire in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said Wednesday.

Photo: Xinhua

Three groups of firefighters are on the frontlines in the city of Xichang to fight the three major areas affected by the fires in the mountains.
As of Wednesday morning, apart from one frontline zone with a 5-km-long burning area, fires in the other areas have been basically contained, said Zhu Kang, an official with the city government.
The fire started on a local farm Monday afternoon and quickly spread to nearby mountains due to strong winds, according to the government of Xichang. On Tuesday, 19 people, including 18 firefighters and a local forest farmworker who led the way for the firefighters, died while battling the fire.
By 9 a.m. Wednesday, a total of 24,467 people in Xichang had been evacuated.