Virgin forest fires lit by lightnings were put out Sunday in north China's Greater Khingan Range. 

All the 12 fires have been completely extinguished and the sites are now under careful guard, said sources with the armed police headquarters in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

More than 2,000 forest fire fighters and forest farm workers spent five days and nights trying to put out the fires since they started on June 22.

Continuing high temperatures and dry weather since late May posed great fire risks, while frequent lightnings that began in mid June stroke dry, withered trees and caused the fires, said the local police.

GPS (global positioning system) and helicopters were employed to send fire fighters to the sites which are mostly located in dense woods. The local meteorological station induced artificial rainfalls to help control the fires.

The Greater Khingan Range, located in the northeast part of Inner Mongolia close to Russia, is one of China's major forest regions with a wood reserve of 670 million cubic meters. More than 70 percent of the Range is covered by forests.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2004)