Firefighters finally contain a giant fire sweeping eastward
across China on this day in 1987, but not before 193 people are
killed. The fateful fire began on May 6 in Mohe County of the
Heilongjiang Province. From the outset, authorities mishandled
the blaze, failing to contain it while the size was still
manageable. It spread quickly and within two days, 2,000 square
miles had burned and 100 people were dead. Firefighters also had
to contend with a separate large forest fire that had broken out
near China's border with the Soviet Union that threatened to
join the initial blaze. It took several more days for the
firefighters to finally stop the spread of the fire as it moved
toward Inner Mongolia. Although the city of Manqui was saved by
controlled fire breaks set by the firefighters, the toll from
this huge fire was already immense. Two and a half million acres
of land burned and 50,000 people lost their homes. In addition
to the 193 people who were killed, hundreds more were injured.
When the fire finally b