Motorcycle club helps snuff Chongqing wildfires
On Sunday night, upon hearing the recruitment notice, Li, the motorcycle club owner, organized a team of 15 club members to sign up to support firefighting in Beibei's Xiema county, the center of the local blazes.
The team members, with an average age of 29, took turns using five dirt bikes and four road bikes to carry materials and equipment to firefighters and to transport people and necessities.
"The unpaved mountain paths, newly excavated as fire barriers, require really good motorcycle skills," Li said, adding that even the best motorcyclist on the team might lose his balance and fall as he carries heavy materials and equipment in a large farmer's back-basket.
He said that to prevent heatstroke in the extreme outdoor heat, the team gave up dressing in thick riding suits. They also joined in cutting wood and putting out fires, working more than 12 hours a day on average.
"We will stick to the site until the fire is out," he said.
As of Wednesday, Chongqing had issued a red alert for high temperatures on 16 consecutive days, and a red alert, the highest level, for forest and prairie fire risks for 20 consecutive days, according to the municipal meteorological observatory.
In the scorching heat and drought conditions, the China Meteorological Administration has dispatched a high-performance aircraft and experts to Chongqing on Tuesday, to guide Chongqing drought relief efforts.
