The 1987 Greater Khingan fire, often called the May 6 fire, became one of the region’s defining disasters. Its consequences were severe, affecting communities, forest resources and the institutions responsible for managing fire in a vast northern landscape. Its significance in Mohe today comes from the scale of the loss and from the lessons it continues to hold for public safety and forest management.
From the journal
The 1987 Greater Khingan Fire: Mohe’s Public Memory and Prevention
The May 1987 Greater Khingan wildfire caused profound loss and remains central to Mohe’s public memory. Memorial events and the local fire memorial museum connect remembrance with present-day forest-fire prevention.
In the same city · Greater Khingan Range Prefecture ↗The May 1987 disaster
A memorial in the city
Mohe’s May 6 Fire Memorial Museum gives the disaster a public place in the city. In 2026, a remembrance and prevention procession travelled from Chuxin Square along Zhenxing Street toward North Pole Star Square and the memorial. A fire alarm sounded at 8:56 a.m. The municipal report counted 23 vehicles and 270 participants, including emergency personnel and community representatives, bringing the anniversary into the city’s ordinary streets.
Memory linked to prevention
The event emphasized fuel control, public education, monitoring and emergency readiness. These are continuing tasks across a region of extensive forest and scattered settlements. At the museum and along the procession route, remembrance of the 1987 fire meets the present work of keeping people and woodland safe.