Lots of fires out of control
At least 23 dead in multiple forest fires in Chile
Firefighters observe a forest fire in the Araucania region of Chile. There are numerous forest fires across the country.
© Javier Torres / AFP
In the midst of a heatwave, Chile is battling massive wildfires. Over 200 fires have been reported across the country, many of which are currently out of control.
At least 23 people have died in Chile in wildfires that followed an intense heatwave. In addition, 979 people were injured, said Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve on Saturday. Of the 232 fires still active on Saturday, 83 are still out of control, Monsalve said.
“In the past week of this crisis, the same area has been burned as in an entire normal year,” Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said of the extent of the fires, which are burning thousands of hectares in the area some 500 kilometers south of the capital Santiago de Chile amid a heat wave with record temperatures captured.
Chile: Government declares state of emergency after forest fires
Given the situation, President Gabriel Boric’s government declared a state of emergency in the regions of La Araucania, Ñuble and Bío-Bío in the center of the country. This move allows the government to use the military to fight the fires. Boric interrupted his vacation on Friday to travel to the city of Concepción, 510 kilometers south of the capital Santiago. “We won’t leave you alone,” the President promised the people affected on Twitter. The causes of the fires were initially unclear. Boric had pointed out that residents would still have burned garbage even at 42 degrees.
Argentina offered to send firefighters and equipment, Boris explained. Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and Spain also offered help, said Interior Minister Carolina Tohá. Among the fatalities are a pilot of Bolivian nationality and a Chilean mechanic who crashed on Friday while extinguishing a helicopter, according to the National Civil Protection Service.
Temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius
According to official information, more than 250 fires blazed in total. The flames have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of land since Wednesday. A heat wave had brought temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius in Chile in the past few days. This favored the outbreak of the fires. There had already been a similar heat wave with fires in 2017. At that time, more than 1,500 houses and 467,000 hectares of land were destroyed. A total of eleven people died and around 6,000 were injured.