Chile has declared a state of emergency in light of a "preliminary" toll of 10 victims caused by forest fires in the central region of Valparaiso, where hundreds of homes are threatened by the flames.
Firefighters have been busy since yesterday with around ten fires concentrated in the tourist regions of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, which have already devastated thousands of hectares of forest and forced residents of coastal cities to flee their homes due to smoke.
"We have preliminary information that several people have died, about 10," said Sofia Gonzales Cortes, state representative for the Valparaiso region.
In the towns of Estrella and Navidad, southwest of the capital, fires burned nearly 30 homes and forced evacuations near the surfing resort of Pichilemu.
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