At least seven die in Chinese wildfires

CHANGSHA, China, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Two wildfires in Hunan Province in central China killed at least seven people.

One fire was set by villagers burning weeds in Hengyang to allow trees to grow back, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported. The fire began burning out of control, injuring one person and killing five in the group, while seven people escaped unscathed.

More than 300 people, including 89 police officers, fought the blaze.

Two people were killed in another blaze near the provincial capital, Changsha.

Zhang Lin, head of the Hunan forest police bureau warned residents of the province to be careful about outdoor fires. He said this year is a bad one for wildfires.