China fights brush fires, extends power rationing in drought

Brush fires have forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people in southwest China and power rationing for factories has reportedly been extended as weeks of record heat and drought batter the region.

Some shopping malls in the megacity of Chongqing have been ordered closed for most of the day to reduce electricity demand, state broadcaster CCTV said, limiting opening hours to 4 to 9 p.m.

The drought and heat have wilted crops and caused rivers including the giant Yangtze to shrink, disrupting cargo traffic and reducing power supply from hydroelectric dams at a time of soaring demand for air conditioning. State media say the government will try to protect the autumn grain harvest, which is 75% of China's annual total, by shooting chemicals into clouds to try to generate rain.

The disruption adds to challenges for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to shore up sagging economic growth before a meeting this fall at which President Xi Jinping is expected to be given a third five-year term as party leader.

There was no public announcement of the extension of power rationing in Sichuan province into a second week, but it was detailed in a company statement and a government notice to companies that was reported by Chinese news outlets.

The "tense situation" of power supplies in Sichuan province "has further intensified," Tencent News said Monday in a report that included a photo of the government notice.

LIER Chemical Co. said in an announcement through the stock exchange in the southern city of Shenzhen that its facilities in the cities of Jinyang and Guang'an in Sichuan received an order extending power rationing through Thursday.

Factories in Sichuan that make processor chips, solar panels, auto components and...