A forest fire that broke out in Taiwan's Alishan on Thursday, Mar. 18, has been burning for at least 68 hours.

Alishan is a nature reserve in Chiayi County that spans 415 square kilometres.

Fire still burning at 3 hotspots

According to Yahoo Taiwan, there are still three hotspots which have yet to be put out as of Sunday morning, Mar. 21.

More than 1 hectare (10,000 square metres) of forest has been burnt.

Besides deploying helicopters, firefighters have also been sent to the sites to contain the fires.

According to the Chiayi Forest District Office, about 119 officials have been mobilised.

Due to the ongoing drought on the mountain, as well as the high temperatures, the fire has been eating up the forest floor, deputy director of the Chiayi Forest District Office, Lee Ting-chung, said.

He added that the steep terrain means it is not easy to contain the fire, which explains the combined effort of tackling the fire from both air and ground.

The fire, which started in a wooded area near Chiayi County’s Dabang Village on March 18, has spread to the surrounding areas and caused loose soil and rocks to fall onto a section of the Alishan highway, Taipei Times reported.

An official from the Chiayi Forest District Office was hit by a falling rock on Friday, Mar. 19. He was sent to the hospital, Lee said.

He added that the official's injuries were not life-threatening.

According to Apple Daily (Taiwan), it is rumoured that cigarette butts littered by tourists at Alishan ignited the whole fire. However, the Chiayi Forest District Office said that investigations are still ongoing.

Nevertheless, Lee said many forest fires in the past were largely man-made. For instance, fires had been started from campfires that had not been completely snuffed out, as well as the burning of weeds and trash, United Daily News reported.

Top image adapted via Chiayi Country Fire Department & Chiayi Forest District Office