International support

The fire on Jinyun Mountain drew attention from the international community in Chongqing.

On Tuesday, a day after the fire broke out, Francis Stonier, 42, who comes from the United States and is associate professor in the Education Department at Southwest University, which is located at the foot of the mountain, signed up for the chain saw team to help create fire barriers.

He and his university colleagues checked and adjusted about 50 chain saws, which were delivered to fire and rescue workers before being taken to the mountain by volunteer motorcyclists to fell trees.

Stonier's story impressed Yasir Cheena, a 31-year-old Pakistani businessman living in Chongqing.

"I am an outdoor person and very close to nature. When I heard about the fire, I was so sad," Cheena said.

After he saw video footage of Stonier performing volunteer work at the fire scene, Cheena asked his Chinese friends how he could become a volunteer.