The forest fire that raged for 11 days at the Kanduhe Forest Farm in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has been extinguished, the local fire fighting headquarters confirmed on early Friday morning.

The headquarters said at around 5:00 AM on Friday, the fire, which occurred on May 22 and resurged on May 24 at the Farm in the southern part of the Greater Hinggan Mountains, was put out. Efforts are continuing to quench burning ashes, the headquarters added.

Lightning strikes were ascertained as the cause of the fire, and dry, windy weather contributed to its spreading.

Earlier reports said the fire has ravaged 50,000 hectares of woods in the Greater Hinggan Mountains, home to China's largest virgin forest and an important lumber production base.

Earlier reports also said approximately 11,000 armed policemen and forest workers were mobilized to fight the fire.

In a related development, a forest fire in the nearby Galashan area of Heihe City, was quenched at 4:20 on Wednesday morning about 10 days after lightning started the blaze on May 21.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2006)