In a battle against raging forest fires, firefighters in central Chile are struggling to contain a catastrophe that has claimed the lives of 112 people and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. President Gabriel Boric has declared the situation a “tragedy of very great magnitude,” as the death toll continues to climb with hundreds still missing.
The fires, which gained momentum on Friday, now threaten the outskirts of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, two coastal cities popular with tourists. The urban sprawl of these cities, home to over a million residents, is on high alert as the wildfires encroach.
Aerial footage captured by drones in the Vina del Mar area reveals scorched neighborhoods, with residents sifting through the remnants of burnt-out homes. Singed cars line the streets, and videos circulating on social media depict hillside fires dangerously close to apartment blocks in Valparaiso, shrouding the region in thick smoke.
In response to the escalating crisis, a curfew has been imposed in Vina del Mar, Quilpue, Villa Alemana, and Limache, allowing officials to focus on firefighting efforts. The military has been deployed to assist firefighters, with helicopters dumping water to combat the flames from the air.
Chilean authorities have enacted a 9 p.m. curfew in the most affected areas. The death toll, reported by the Legal Medical Service, has surged from 51 on Saturday to 112, prompting a state of emergency. Coastal cities are engulfed in smoke, compelling residents in core regions to flee their homes.
President Boric, in a televised address, announced two days of national mourning starting Monday, urging the nation to brace for more grim news. He emphasized the collective grief, stating, “It is Chile as a whole that suffers and mourns our dead. We are facing a tragedy of very great magnitude.”
Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve revealed that 165 fires are currently raging across Chile, estimating around 14,000 homes damaged in Vina del Mar and Quilpué alone. Many returning to their homes find them unrecognizable, having lost their life’s possessions.
While wildfires are not uncommon during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, the severity of these blazes marks Chile’s worst national disaster since the 2010 earthquake. Last year, a record heat wave claimed 27 lives and affected over 400,000 hectares of land. In February 2023, fires killed more than 22 people and swept through 400,000 hectares.
President Boric is directing funds to the most affected areas, many of which are popular tourist destinations. “We are together, all of us, fighting the emergency. The priority is to save lives,” Boric affirmed. The fires erupted amid a heat wave affecting several Latin American countries, leading to a state of emergency and red alerts in at-risk areas.
(Inputs from agencies)