A man stands on rubble and destruction caused by a fire in Santa Juana, Biobío Region (Chile). Esteban Paredes Drake (Esteban Paredes Drake)
The wave of forest fires that has affected central-southern Chile since last week has left at least 26 dead and more than a thousand injured, according to the balance made this Monday morning by the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service. (Senapred).
At the national level, 260 fires are active, of which 51 are in combat, 140 are controlled and the rest are under observation.
High temperatures, strong winds and low humidity have made the work of brigade members and firefighters more complex.
The flames of the deadliest wave of forest fires in the last decade have devastated 274,000 hectares and 1,559 homes and have left some 3,300 homeless.
President Gabriel Boric has decreed a state of constitutional catastrophic exception in the most affected regions: Ñuble, Biobío and Araucanía (located 400, 500 and 700 kilometers south of Santiago, respectively).
This measure allows, among other things, the deployment of the armed forces in emergency areas.
The Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, explained that the phenomenon that has been developing since Friday is due to a cocktail of three factors: The high and extreme temperatures that the South American country will continue to face in the coming days;
the vegetation that dries up after winter and as a result of the lack of humidity "becomes combustible material";
and strong winds.
At least 13 of the deceased are from the municipality of Santa Juana, where about 13,000 inhabitants live, in the city of Concepción (Biobío).
According to Mayor Ana Albornoz, 50% of rural homes have been destroyed by fire.
They calculate that only in this territory there are some 4,500 victims and 14,000 burned hectares.
The Chilean president, who suspended his vacations due to the emergency, and has been traveling to the main affected areas, assured this Sunday that "reconstruction will be a structural axis" for his government, a task that will extend to all the ministries.
“That is why we have all the ministers deployed, because I want them to see the field and look people in the eye,” Boric added.
In addition to the hundreds of firefighters deployed on the ground, some 3,300 brigade members of the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma) are working to control the sources of fire.
Monsalve reported late on Sunday that 10 people have been arrested for their "possible responsibility in the generation of fires", whether intentional or accidental.
Carabineros has deployed more than 900 agents in the affected areas added to about 90 from the Investigative Police.
The flames have shaken memories of the 2017 fires, which left 11 dead and 467,000 hectares burned.
"The weather conditions are much more complex than what we had in 2017 in the firestorm," said Rodrigo Jara, regional director of the Chilean National Forestry Corporation (CONAF).
However, the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, clarified that the country is better prepared than then.
"Today we have 63 aircraft available as a fleet already contracted for the season, 10 additional aircraft from Senapred and four more from Conaf."
In 2017 they had 19 aircraft available.
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