A wave of forest fires in southern Chile leaves at least five dead

A wave of 151 forest fires hits Chilean territory, concentrated in the center-south of the country when temperatures exceed 40 degrees in some cities.

The flames have left at least five dead and a hundred homes damaged in the Ñuble and Biobío regions, located 400 and 500 kilometers south of Santiago.

President Gabriel Boric interrupted his vacation in Patagonia this Friday and went to the city of Concepción in Ñubla to meet with local authorities and visit affected residents.

The president has decreed a state of constitutional exception of catastrophe in the two critical regions.

The Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, has reported that of the 151 active fires nationwide, 39 are in combat, 65 are controlled and the rest "on the way or under observation."

In the Ñuble region there are 15 fires that have devastated nearly 14,000 hectares.

Regarding the four deceased in the municipality of Santa Juana (about 13,000 inhabitants), in Concepción, the minister explained that they were people who were traveling in cars on different roads.

"In one case they burned because they were hit by fire," Tohá said, and in the other they suffered an accident "probably trying to escape from the fire."

Firefighters work to put out the fire in Quillón, Chile.JUAN GONZALEZ (REUTERS)

After the balance of the Government authorities, the Fire Department announced that the volunteer Yessenia Muñoz, from the 3rd Yobilo Fire Company, died after helping to fight the flames also in Santa Juana, which is in evacuation and alert red.

“We have people trapped in their houses who are asking for help.

It is a major catastrophe,” Mayor Ana Albornóz alerted the media.

"The fire is not controlled and the climatic situation has not yet reached its critical point," added the local authority, who reiterated the call for the military to be sent to the area.

The state of catastrophe decreed by the president allows the deployment of armed forces in the area.

"It allows us to place special additional supports as a result of the fire situation that is being experienced," Tohá said.

The authorities can also restrict freedom of movement and assembly and adopt all the extraordinary administrative measures that are necessary to restore normality in the affected territory.

Boric instructed the Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, the Minister of Defense, Maya Fernández, and the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, to go to the epicenter of the emergency "to expedite concrete and on-the-ground measures for the affected families." .

Chile accumulates 14 years of drought, the longest period of dry weather since there are records.

Six regions in the center of the South American country, where close to 80% of the population is concentrated, are facing an unprecedented water crisis.

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