China’s People Daily has reported that a huge fire has broken out in the Hebei Province, in the north-east of the country. The videos of fires appear to come from numerous locations, with one showing a large area of fields in flame.
On 18 March 2020, the daily high in Beijing spiked to 23°F, considerably above the average daily high of 12°C, with winds hitting 23mph.
A news report on NTD, meanwhile, showed fires torching a range of rural and urban locations in Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin and other locations throughout the country, as first responders struggled to deal with biting gale force winds.
Social Media
In addition to official news broadcasts, netizens have reported that a 27th Army warehouse near Shijiazhuang has exploded. The following accompanied the tweet put out by an anonymous poster on Twitter (via Google Translate):
“… I don’t have the ability to confirm, but from the scene picture, it looks like a large military warehouse, because there are no buildings around, and it is located in the suburbs or rural areas. The CCP is accustomed to placing troops far from urban areas. An important reason is also to facilitate brainwashing of soldiers. What exactly happened in Beijing last night? 38 army barracks exploded, 27 army warehouses exploded? Maybe we never know.”
The geographic spread of the as-yet unverified video reports emerging on social media suggest that China is facing a widescale fire emergency.
网友提供：昨晚石家庄附近第27集团军的一个仓库爆炸。我没有能力证实，但是从现场画面看，很像大型军用仓库所在地，因为周围没有建筑，地处郊区或农村。中共习惯把部队放在远离市区的地方。一个重要原因也是便于给士兵洗脑。北京昨晚到底发生了什么？38军军营爆炸，27军仓库爆炸？可能我们永远也不知情 pic.twitter.com/CUcPp5645Q
— 一剑飘尘06 (@yjpc06) March 18, 2020
#China Qingdao is also lit!
The country is burning! pic.twitter.com/fADAGdD6BS
— Harry Chen PhD (@PhdParody) March 19, 2020
Big fires in #Beijing #China, the suspicious forest around the country are just a coincidence and therefore normal. pic.twitter.com/UK1WkfPxUx
— Harry Chen PhD (@PhdParody) March 19, 2020
Another part of the outskirts of Beijing are breaking out of fire. Some 560 firefighters have now been dispatched. As it’s getting darker, the firefighting is becoming a challenging task. The cause of the fire is believed to be related with electric wires broken by the wild wind. pic.twitter.com/xJdS6dDaqv
— Secret Beijing (@Secret_Beijing) March 18, 2020
河北省文安县滩里镇富管营村刚刚发生大火！！ pic.twitter.com/q03p8zT45p
— 今日中国 (@Today__China) March 18, 2020
#China Beijing bushfire [Video #4] pic.twitter.com/Pg8NuSxegh
— W. B. Yeats (@WBYeats1865) March 18, 2020
#China Beijing bushfire [Video #6]
It’s obvious in every video collected, that the wind was blowing strong. pic.twitter.com/Al7zy8hM3w
— W. B. Yeats (@WBYeats1865) March 18, 2020
#China Beijing bushfire [Video #8] pic.twitter.com/6aPCcZo4mq
— W. B. Yeats (@WBYeats1865) March 18, 2020
#China Beijing bushfire [Video #10]
“It will be all destroyed. This fire is impossible to be put out as the wind is so strong. Even the village with hundreds of families will be destroyed. So terrible.” pic.twitter.com/IZpJws6wtR
— W. B. Yeats (@WBYeats1865) March 18, 2020
Weather Reports
China’s National Early Warning Center has issued an Orange Warning for forest fire risk, which runs through 21 March 2020. Citizens are advised not to start any fires in forested areas, and immediately to report forest fires on 12119.
市森防办与市气象台于3月14日0时联合发布森林火险橙色预警：3月14日至21日本市将陆续出现4级左右偏北风，阵风6、7级。请广大市民不要携带火种进入林区，严禁野外一切违规违章用火。一旦发现森林火情，请及时拨打报警电话12119。
Also on the weather front, authorities in China warned of sand and duststorms hitting Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Shanxi between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
A cold front is expected to chill parts of north China in the next two days. Those regions will see strong winds and temperature drops of up to 10 degrees Celsius, according to the NMC.
The NMC warned of fire risks due to low humidity and dry wind, and advised the public to take precautions against falling objects and dust.
Picture (c) Twitter.
