Giant fire ravages northern China.
June 1987. It might have begun with little more than a cigarette butt, or a spark from a chain saw falling on spilt gasoline. But the fire that developed grew into the worst conflagration China had seen in 40 years. It began on May 6, swelled and spread across this northernmost province of the country, consuming over a million acres, 70 percent of which had carried valued forests. It took 35.000 soldiers, together with some 2.100 forest policemen and firemen and 20.000 forest workers four weeks to finally quell the blaze, aided by heavy rain. 193 people had lost their lives; 50.000 had been left homeless. As reconstruction began, so did the search for causes.