Xichang officials said the blaze started on a farm before strong winds spread the flames to Lushan Mountain, turning it into a fire that people in downtown Xichang could see and smell, said Song Ming, a resident of the city.

A total of 2,044 people were involved in fighting the fire, which was still burning late on Tuesday. To make way for vehicles heading toward the wildfire, emergency traffic controls were placed on some roads.

In the early hours of Tuesday, flames were approaching the walls of the city's largest general merchandise warehouse. Firefighters doused the dry grass with water and felled pine trees near the warehouse, official said.

By early Tuesday, eight fire-rescue teams equipped with 129 firetrucks, 556 firefighters and four water tanker trucks had arrived in Xichang from other parts of Sichuan.

On Monday afternoon, another forest fire erupted in Binchuan county in Sichuan's neighboring Yunnan province, where it had consumed 15 hectares and also was still burning late on Tuesday. The firefighting operation in Yunnan involved 652 people.