YICHUN, Heilongjiang: Fire fighters on Friday were still battling to control a fatal forest fire in Heilongjiang province that has been raging for almost five days.

The inferno started in Yinanhe forest farm on Monday and quickly spread northeast to Yichun in winds of up to 40 km per hour. One firefighter has been killed and four others injured in the blaze, while more than 20,000 residents have been evacuated to safety.

Yichun is home to more than 30 percent of the world's Korean pine virgin forest and is also a renowned granite stone forest national park.