The Beijing Fire and Rescue Department revealed that from May 1st to 8th, the 119 Command Center received 120 reports of fires caused by willow and poplar catkins, including 102 minor incidents and 18 actual fires, none of which resulted in casualties.
The fire department reminds that communities (villages), public organizations, and others should promptly spray water to moisten areas where catkins have accumulated, and sweep them away immediately after moistening; residents are urged not to discard unextinguished cigarette butts during outdoor activities to avoid leaving ignition sources behind. Parents should educate their children not to light the catkins; workers should thoroughly clear catkins and other combustibles before performing any hot work; do not clear catkins by burning them, and never ignite catkins out of curiosity or for fun, to prevent fire accidents.
Fire rescue personnel explained that fires involving willow and poplar catkins have three prominent characteristics: First, there are many ignition sources—unextinguished cigarette butts, children playing with fire, sparks from welding or cutting, and even the high temperature from vehicle exhaust pipes can all ignite them; Second, the spread is extremely fast—the catkins burn in a "flash explosion" manner, dispersing with the wind to form "flying fire," causing simultaneous outbreaks at multiple spots which makes firefighting very challenging; Third, the burning temperature is very high—burning just 1 square meter of catkins can produce flame temperatures above 900°C, which is sufficient to ignite nearby dry grass, trees, vehicles, and even houses.
It is worth noting that even if a fire does not result in serious consequences, anyone who deliberately lights catkins and causes a fire could face administrative detention. In practice, similar cases have occurred across the country: In Tongzhou, Beijing, a man, out of curiosity, set fire to some catkins, burning about 80 square meters of grassland and was administratively detained for 10 days in accordance with the law; in Shunyi District, Beijing, another man used a lighter to ignite catkins in a parking lot, which in turn set trees on fire, and was also administratively detained for 10 days.