Santiago de Chile, under a layer of polluting smoke from forest fires

A woman takes a picture of the city of Santiago covered by a cloud of smoke, Chile.ELVIS GONZALEZ (EFE)

Santiago de Chile woke up this Friday under a layer of smoke;

a mixture of gases and particles of trees and materials produced by a hundred forest fires, concentrated in the central zone of the country.

The National Emergency Office (Onemi) has decreed a red alert in the Metropolitan Region due to the historic heat wave that is plaguing the territory.

The temperature reached 36.7º on Thursday in the municipality of Quinta Normal, the highest of the year in the capital, and the third highest registered in a month of December in 110 years.

The presidential delegate of the Metropolitan Region, Constanza Martínez, has announced an alert this morning for a health risk due to contamination in the capital's air and has recommended the use of a mask and the suspension of physical activities.

The main forest fire in the capital is registered in Curacaví, to the northeast, where the fire has already affected more than 2,000 hectares and is approaching populated sectors and critical infrastructure.

From these flames, fostered by high temperatures and low humidity, comes the great mass of toxic smoke that clouds the Santiago sky and whose particles sting the eyes and can irritate the respiratory system.

Local authorities have recommended that the population at risk, such as pregnant women, minors, the elderly and asthmatic patients, avoid leaving their homes.

During the morning, 14 municipalities of the Metropolitan Region requested the suspension of classes, according to the Minister of Education, Marco Antonio Avila.

Firefighters have had difficulties extinguishing the flames because they are "fires with very extreme behavior due to their high propagation speed, which have threatened populated sectors in recent days," said the protection manager of the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf). , Pablo Lobos.

In addition to the capital, the fires are concentrated in the regions of Valparaíso, located 120 kilometers west of Santiago, and Biobío, 500 kilometers to the south.

In Valparaíso, the most affected area in the country, there are eight sources of fire.

There are already five municipalities with a red alert, which is activated when the forecast temperature is equal to or greater than 35°.

Inside Valparaíso, 38° and 31° were recorded this Thursday on the coastline, a “totally unusual” temperature in said territory, according to the Meteorological Directorate.

One of the municipalities on red alert is Santo Domingo, where more than thirty homes have been affected by a fire that spreads over more than 2,000 hectares.

Four firefighters have been injured;

two from smoke inhalation and two from burns.

More than 100 land brigade units have been deployed throughout the national territory to fight the flames, including machinery, tank trucks and more than 18 aircraft.

The Meteorological Directorate expects that there will be "a little breather" over the weekend, with temperatures around 30°, but that the heat wave will continue next week.

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