Weihai (China) – A forest fire that has raged in east China’s Shandong Province was contained on Friday morning.

No casualties were reported and hundreds of locals have been evacuated to emergency shelters nearby.

The city’s government said in a statement that the fire broke out at about 3p.m. on Thursday in a forest in the coastal city of Weihai and quickly spread with the help of a strong wind.

Fire fronts could be seen at sections of Huanshan Road near the forest; however, the smoke has reduced visibility in neighbouring urban areas.

According to the statement, the road has been closed and patrollers are warning people not to enter the fire zone.

Nearby residents have been relocated to emergency shelters at Weihai International Exhibition Center and a gymnasium.

According to deputy chief of the Weihai Civil Affairs Bureau, Miao Jia said 813 people had been settled in the exhibition center as of Friday.

Local authorities have prepared quilts, food, drinking water and toilet paper.

The statement said 2,000 firefighters have worked to contain the fire, and efforts were complicated by the heavy wind packing speeds of up to 61 km per hour.

– Xinhua/NAN