Memorial remembers sacrifices of firefighters in Xichang

The forest fire, which started at around 4 pm on Monday at Jingjiu township in Xichang, killed 18 firefighters and a local guide and injured three other fire fighters. They were on their way to fight the fire on the city's Lushan Mountain when a sudden change in wind speed and direction surround¬ed the group in flames, local officials quoting the survivors said.

The fire was extinguished at midday on Thursday. The six areas engulfed by the fire have not reported any fires since then, the department said.