By Harriet Tornguvan
At least 19 people have been killed in wildfires raging across Chile, authorities said Monday, as extreme heat and strong winds fueled nearly two dozen blazes and forced mass evacuations.
Although cooler overnight conditions helped firefighters contain some fires, the largest remained active, with dangerous weather expected to persist, Security Minister Luis Cordero told a news briefing.
“The projection we have today is of high temperatures,” Cordero said, warning that conditions could spark new fires across affected regions.
Parts of central and southern Chile were under extreme heat alerts, with temperatures forecast to reach 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit).
Most of the fatalities were reported in Penco, a small coastal city north of the regional capital, Concepción. On Monday, residents sifted through the rubble of burned homes as firefighters continued battling nearby flames.
Among them was Ana Caamaño, 51, searching through the ashes of the home in Lirquén where she was raised and later inherited from her parents. Scattered among the debris were charred household items and the remains of one of her four dogs.
“They’re not that important,” Caamaño said, holding a few scorched rings. “But they’re memories.”
Caamaño and her husband, Luis, were visiting family when the fires broke out Saturday. Their son, Franco, was at home and tried to hose down the house as the flames approached, but a sudden gust of wind pushed thick black smoke toward him, forcing him to flee.
“It came like lightning. It was so quick,” Franco said, echoing accounts from other residents who said the fast-moving fire left them little time to escape.
Authorities say at least 325 homes have been destroyed, with another 1,100 still being assessed.
Chile’s CONAF forestry agency said firefighters were battling 26 fires nationwide as of Monday afternoon, the most severe in the regions of Ñuble and BÃo BÃo. President Gabriel Boric has declared a state of catastrophe in both regions.
More than 20,000 hectares (77 square miles) have burned so far—an area roughly the size of Seattle. The largest blaze has scorched more than 14,000 hectares on the outskirts of Concepción.
Fire crews are working to contain flames threatening the Manzano prison near the city and the town of Tomé to the north.
Chile and neighboring Argentina entered the new year amid prolonged heat waves that have extended into January. Earlier this month, wildfires in Argentina’s Patagonia region burned roughly 15,000 hectares, underscoring the growing regional risk posed by extreme heat and dry conditions.
