Chile wildfires leave at least 19 dead and force mass evacuations
Wildfires in central and southern Chile have left at least 19 people dead, forced 50,000 people to evacuate and destroyed hundreds of homes.
AP News reported the toll and evacuations as Chile sweltered under a heat wave and firefighters struggled to contain more than two dozen active wildfires.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the central Biobio region and the neighbouring Ñuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in the fires.
The national forestry agency said the wildfires had burned through 8,500 hectares.
Boric said initial reports of 19 people killed and 300 houses destroyed were expected to rise as the extent of the losses came into focus.
He estimated the total number of affected homes in the Biobio region alone to be “certainly more than a thousand, just so far.”
Boric said: “The first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire.
“But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering.
“These are difficult times.”
Firefighters faced heat and strong winds as temperatures topped 38C on Sunday and the scorching weather was expected to persist through Monday.
Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde said: “Weather conditions for coming hours are not good and indicate extreme temperatures.”
Residents in Penco said the fires took them by surprise after midnight and some people stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest.
John Guzmán said: “Many people didn’t evacuate.
“They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest.
“It was completely out of control.
“No one expected it.”
Residents described fleeing in the dark and scrambling for makeshift emergency shelters as the fire engulfed most of Penco, burning cars, a school and a church.
Juan Lagos said: “We fled running, with the kids, in the dark.”
A nighttime curfew was imposed in the area.
Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of Penco, said: “Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence.
“How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Chile wildfires reported as 19 dead and 15 fires still active
The latest AP News report put the death toll at at least 19 people, with 15 wildfires still active on Monday after fires started on Sunday.
The National Service for the Prevention of Disasters said the wildfires have destroyed homes, vehicles, infrastructure and forests.
Boric said the wildfires have blazed through at least 30,000 hectares, an area he described as roughly five times the size of Manhattan Island.
Boric said: “Controlling fires of this magnitude, with unfavorable weather conditions like high temperature, wind, and a lack of humidity is a tremendously difficult job,”
He thanked nations that have sent firefighters and supplies to Chile, including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.
Chilean officials said 325 homes have been destroyed and another 1,140 homes have been damaged.
Police are investigating the causes of the current spate of wildfires.
Boric said that in “99% of cases” wildfires in Chile are the result of human behavior.
Wildfires are common in Chile during the summer due to high temperatures and dry weather.
In 2024, fires across Chile’s central coastline killed at least 130 people, which AP News described as the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since the 2010 earthquake.