The multiple forest fires that continue to rage in central Chile, where an intense heat wave is raging, have left 24 dead and 1,182 injured, according to a new report published on Sunday February 5 by the authorities.
Fanned by moderate to strong winds and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, the fires devastated some 270,000 hectares and destroyed 1,081 homes in five days, authorities said.
Santa Juana, Purén, and Tome, north of Concepción, are the epicentres of the fires.
Aerial view of a fire in Purén.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
Santa Juana, in the province of Concepcion, after the passage of the flames, on February 3.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
A little respite on Sunday morning
On Sunday morning, a drop in temperatures offered some respite to the 5,300 firefighters battling the blazes.
According to the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), 283 active fires have been recorded, including 71 out of control.
“
We are seeing a small improvement in weather conditions on Sunday and Monday.
This means that we are not experiencing extremely high temperatures
, ”said Monsalve, but they could again reach Tuesday February 7 near 40ºC.
Firefighters near a fire in Purén.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
Firefighters rest after battling the flames in Santa Juana, near Concepcion.
JUAN GONZALEZ / REUTERS
Scenes of desolation
This agricultural and forest region is reduced to scenes of desolation with plots reduced to ashes, animals lying lifeless and inhabitants who have lost everything.
A dog rests as residents clean up debris in Santa Juana.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
A man among the debris of houses in the hills of Tome, in the province of Concepcion.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
The death toll "
has risen to 24, after the death of a person who was hospitalized in Angol
", located in the region of La Araucanía, Interior Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve said on Sunday.
Read alsoForest fires, melting snow, dried up springs: the Alps are suffocating
The government has declared a state of disaster in several central regions.
Inferno in Purén, February 4, 2023. JAVIER TORRES / AFP
Flames consume a home in Santa Juana.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
Can't run away
Miguel Angel Henriquez, a 58-year-old farmer from Santa Juana, told AFP that he and his wife were too late to flee.
“
We waited until the end, but the fire trapped us on the roads.
When we wanted to leave, we couldn't because the flames were crossing the track
”.
Chileans find refuge in the rivers.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
A man walks past an ox during a forest fire in Santa Juana.
JAVIER TORRES / AFP
President Gabriel Boric attended the wake of a volunteer firefighter on Sunday in the town of Coronel, in the Biobio region.
He went again on Sunday to the city of Concepción, 510 km south of Santiago, and visited the ravaged areas.
According to him, ten people were arrested, suspected of having played a role in the outbreak of certain fires.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric greeting an elderly woman upon his arrival in Coronel, in the Biobio region.
- /AFP
SEE ALSO
- Chile: at least 23 dead in more than 250 forest fires