In 1987, the area surrounding the Amur River in the region had been unusually hot and was experiencing a drought, leading to an overabundance of parched vegetation.
Because the area was sparsely populated at the time, the exact cause of the fire was not very clear at first; any small ignition could have turned into a major firestorm in the conditions present.
Later and widely believed Chinese reports state that the fire was started "when an untrained 18-year-old worker accidentally ignited gas spilled from his brush cutter.
"[6] According to Harrison Salisbury, the roots of the disaster lay in excessive cutting down of trees without any effort to let the forest regrow, which triggered multiple fires in the region.
In addition, a local fire chief who saved his house and left the rest of his town to burn was sentenced to four years in prison.
[6] The lessons learned from the Black Dragon fire helped to improve response to wildfires throughout the world as well as demonstrate the impact that governments can have on the environment.