China says forest fires kill 33 so far this year

BEIJING, Sep 13 (Reuters) Forest fires have killed 33 people and destroyed 380,000 hectares of woods in China in the first eight months of the year, state media said, as the country battles prolonged drought in certain areas.

Although the death toll was a third lower than the average for the same period over the last three years, more than double the area of forests was damaged by fire, Xinhua news agency said in a report.

The vast majority of the fires were caused by human activity, Jia Zhibang, head of the State Forestry Administration, was quoted as telling a conference in northern Shanxi province.

China's arid north, as well as the usually wetter northeast and southwest, have been battling abnormally dry conditions this year, affecting parts of even the normally lush tropical province of Yunnan.

REUTERS VJ RAI0710