[00:00.49]Firemen had been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control.
[00:08.96]A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around.
[00:16.40]Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills.
[00:23.84]Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction,
[00:30.73]for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well.
[00:38.60]When the fire had at last been put out,
[00:42.04]the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly.
[00:50.08]The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.
[00:57.33]The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain.
[01:04.05]By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root.
[01:10.29]In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.