According to the National Service for Disaster Prevention, 15 wildfires were still active on Monday after breaking out on Sunday. The agency said the fires have destroyed homes, vehicles
Firefighters in Chile are battling forest fires that have killed at least 19 people and forced about 50,000 residents to flee their homes, as the blazes burned across thousands of acres in central and southern parts of the country.
According to the National Service for Disaster Prevention, 15 wildfires were still active on Monday after breaking out on Sunday. The agency said the fires have destroyed homes, vehicles, infrastructure and large areas of forest.
President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe on Sunday in the central Biobío region and the neighbouring Ñuble region.
The measure allows for greater coordination with the military to help contain the fires.
Boric said the wildfires have scorched at least 30,000 hectares an area roughly five times the size of Manhattan.
“Controlling fires of this magnitude, under adverse weather conditions such as high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity, is an extremely difficult task,” the president said at a news conference on Monday.
He also thanked countries including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil for sending firefighters and emergency supplies to assist Chile.
Officials said 325 homes have been completely destroyed, while another 1,140 have been damaged.
Police are investigating the causes of the fires. Boric said on Monday that in “99 percent of cases,” wildfires in Chile are caused by human activity.
Wildfires are common in Chile during the summer months because of hot, dry conditions. However, the current outbreak in central and southern regions is among the deadliest in recent years.
In 2024, massive wildfires along Chile’s central coast killed at least 130 people, making them the country’s deadliest natural disaster since the devastating 2010 earthquake.
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