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Wildfires scorch central Chile, death toll tops 110
by Javier TORRES with Paula BUSTAMANTE in Santiago
'Inferno'
The fires, raging for days, forced authorities on Friday to close the road linking the Valparaiso region to the capital Santiago, about 1.5 hours away, as a huge mushroom cloud of smoke impaired visibility.
Images posted online from trapped motorists showed mountains in flames at the end of the famous "Route 68" leading to the Pacific coast.
by Javier TORRES with Paula BUSTAMANTE in Santiago
FEBRUARY 5, 2024
Chile's wildfires of early February 2024 have been the country's deadliest disaster since a 2010 earthquake.
The death toll from central Chile's blazing wildfires climbed to at least 112 people on Sunday, after President Gabriel Boric warned the number would rise "significantly" as teams search gutted neighborhoods.
Responders continued to battle fires in the coastal tourist region of Valparaiso amid an intense summer heat wave, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend.
Abraham Mardones, a welder who fled his burning home in Vina del Mar, told AFP he narrowly escaped the fast-paced inferno that raged over a hillside Friday and through several blocks of the seaside city.
"We looked out again and the fire was already on our walls. It took only 10 minutes. The entire hill burned," he said.
"The fire consumed everything—memories, comforts, homes. I was left with nothing but my overalls and a pair of sneakers that were given to me as a gift," Mardones told AFP. "I could only rescue my dog."
Upon his return on Sunday, he said he found several neighbors who had died in the flames.
Friends passed by driving a truck "carrying the burned bodies of their brother, their father, their daughter."
The Interior Ministry said late Sunday that the medical examiner's office had received 112 dead victims, 32 of whom have been identified, and that there are 40 fires still active in the country.
The death toll from central Chile's blazing wildfires climbed to at least 112 people on Sunday, after President Gabriel Boric warned the number would rise "significantly" as teams search gutted neighborhoods.
Responders continued to battle fires in the coastal tourist region of Valparaiso amid an intense summer heat wave, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend.
Abraham Mardones, a welder who fled his burning home in Vina del Mar, told AFP he narrowly escaped the fast-paced inferno that raged over a hillside Friday and through several blocks of the seaside city.
"We looked out again and the fire was already on our walls. It took only 10 minutes. The entire hill burned," he said.
"The fire consumed everything—memories, comforts, homes. I was left with nothing but my overalls and a pair of sneakers that were given to me as a gift," Mardones told AFP. "I could only rescue my dog."
Upon his return on Sunday, he said he found several neighbors who had died in the flames.
Friends passed by driving a truck "carrying the burned bodies of their brother, their father, their daughter."
The Interior Ministry said late Sunday that the medical examiner's office had received 112 dead victims, 32 of whom have been identified, and that there are 40 fires still active in the country.
President Gabriel Boric has declared a state of emergency as fires rage across parts of central and southern Chile.
Speaking earlier in Quilpue, a devastated hillside community near Vina del Mar, Boric had said the death toll was 64 but "we know it is going to increase significantly," adding it was the country's deadliest disaster since a 2010 earthquake and tsunami that killed 500 people.
Vina del Mar mayor Macarena Ripamonti told reporters "190 people are still missing" in the city.
"Not a single house was left here," retiree Lilian Rojas, 67, told AFP of her neighborhood near the Vina del Mar botanical garden, which was also destroyed in the flames.
Dead victims in the streets
Boric, who met with fire survivors at a Vina del Mar hospital Sunday, has declared a state of emergency, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet.
According to national disaster service SENAPRED, nearly 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) had been burned across the central and southern regions by Sunday.
Speaking earlier in Quilpue, a devastated hillside community near Vina del Mar, Boric had said the death toll was 64 but "we know it is going to increase significantly," adding it was the country's deadliest disaster since a 2010 earthquake and tsunami that killed 500 people.
Vina del Mar mayor Macarena Ripamonti told reporters "190 people are still missing" in the city.
"Not a single house was left here," retiree Lilian Rojas, 67, told AFP of her neighborhood near the Vina del Mar botanical garden, which was also destroyed in the flames.
Dead victims in the streets
Boric, who met with fire survivors at a Vina del Mar hospital Sunday, has declared a state of emergency, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet.
According to national disaster service SENAPRED, nearly 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) had been burned across the central and southern regions by Sunday.
Vehicles and homes burn during a fire in Viña del Mar, Chile, on February 2, 2024.
Supported by 31 firefighting helicopters and airplanes, some 1,400 firefighters, 1,300 military personnel and volunteers are combating the flames.
SENAPRED chief Alvaro Hormazabal, noting the dozens of blazes still burning out of control, said weather "conditions are going to continue to be complicated."
Authorities have imposed a curfew, while thousands in the affected areas were ordered to evacuate their homes.
In the hillsides around Vina del Mar, AFP reporters saw entire blocks of houses that were burned out.
Some of the dead were seen lying on the road, covered by sheets.
Supported by 31 firefighting helicopters and airplanes, some 1,400 firefighters, 1,300 military personnel and volunteers are combating the flames.
SENAPRED chief Alvaro Hormazabal, noting the dozens of blazes still burning out of control, said weather "conditions are going to continue to be complicated."
Authorities have imposed a curfew, while thousands in the affected areas were ordered to evacuate their homes.
In the hillsides around Vina del Mar, AFP reporters saw entire blocks of houses that were burned out.
Some of the dead were seen lying on the road, covered by sheets.
'Inferno'
The fires, raging for days, forced authorities on Friday to close the road linking the Valparaiso region to the capital Santiago, about 1.5 hours away, as a huge mushroom cloud of smoke impaired visibility.
Images posted online from trapped motorists showed mountains in flames at the end of the famous "Route 68" leading to the Pacific coast.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric (C) visits patients affected by the wildfires at a hospital in Vina del Mar on February 4, 2024.
According to Interior Minister Carolina Toha, the weekend blazes have been "without a doubt" the deadliest fire event in Chile's history.
"This was an inferno," Rodrigo Pulgar, from the town of El Olivar, told AFP. "I tried to help my neighbor... my house was starting to burn behind us. It was raining ash."
During his Sunday address, Pope Francis, a native of neighboring Argentina, called for prayers for the "dead and wounded in the devastating fires in Chile."
The fires are being driven by a summer heat wave and drought affecting the southern part of South America caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, as scientists warn that a warming planet has increased the risk of natural disasters such as intense heat and fires.
© 2024 AFP
According to Interior Minister Carolina Toha, the weekend blazes have been "without a doubt" the deadliest fire event in Chile's history.
"This was an inferno," Rodrigo Pulgar, from the town of El Olivar, told AFP. "I tried to help my neighbor... my house was starting to burn behind us. It was raining ash."
During his Sunday address, Pope Francis, a native of neighboring Argentina, called for prayers for the "dead and wounded in the devastating fires in Chile."
The fires are being driven by a summer heat wave and drought affecting the southern part of South America caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, as scientists warn that a warming planet has increased the risk of natural disasters such as intense heat and fires.
© 2024 AFP
Bloomberg News | February 4, 2024
Firefighters working in Valparaiso, Chile on February 4, 2024.
(Image by President Gabriel Boric’s press team, X.)
Authorities in Chile’s Valparaiso region extended stay-at-home orders as forest fires continue to rage into Sunday. At least 99 people have been killed in the country’s deadliest disaster since a massive earthquake in 2010.
Blazes that began on Friday spread through bushland and into populated areas on the edge of the coastal city of Viña del Mar, about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Santiago, fed by blustering wind and high temperatures.
Power and water services have been disrupted, causing Chile’s second-largest oil refinery to halt operations. Authorities said the fires may have been intentionally lit.
“It’s evident that it was intentional” because four separate fires started simultaneously in the same forest, Valparaíso Governor Rodrigo Mundaca told reporters Sunday.
President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in the Valparaiso region late Friday. The government announced a 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. curfew in major cities in the area including Viña del Mar to make it easier for rescue vehicles and equipment to get through.
The government estimates that between 3,000 and 6,000 hectares (7,413 and 14,826 acres) and 3,000 homes have been razed so far, with at least 1,600 people occupying shelters as authorities and NGOs start relief efforts. More than 300 people are still unaccounted for, according to officials.
Enap, Chile’s state-owned energy company, halted operations at its second-biggest oil refinery after wildfires caused power cuts. The Aconcagua plant on the country’s central coast was placed in a what’s known as a safe position to begin gradually restarting operations, a company official said in text messages late Saturday.
The transport of copper from the large Los Bronces mine in central Chile has been unaffected by the fires, according to operator Anglo American Plc. Codelco, with its nearby Andina mine, also said its operations are unaffected.
Finance Minister Mario Marcel has said reconstruction will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Boric, who visited the area, declared two days of national mourning starting Monday.
(By James Attwood and Andrea Jaramillo)
Authorities in Chile’s Valparaiso region extended stay-at-home orders as forest fires continue to rage into Sunday. At least 99 people have been killed in the country’s deadliest disaster since a massive earthquake in 2010.
Blazes that began on Friday spread through bushland and into populated areas on the edge of the coastal city of Viña del Mar, about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Santiago, fed by blustering wind and high temperatures.
Power and water services have been disrupted, causing Chile’s second-largest oil refinery to halt operations. Authorities said the fires may have been intentionally lit.
“It’s evident that it was intentional” because four separate fires started simultaneously in the same forest, Valparaíso Governor Rodrigo Mundaca told reporters Sunday.
President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in the Valparaiso region late Friday. The government announced a 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. curfew in major cities in the area including Viña del Mar to make it easier for rescue vehicles and equipment to get through.
The government estimates that between 3,000 and 6,000 hectares (7,413 and 14,826 acres) and 3,000 homes have been razed so far, with at least 1,600 people occupying shelters as authorities and NGOs start relief efforts. More than 300 people are still unaccounted for, according to officials.
Enap, Chile’s state-owned energy company, halted operations at its second-biggest oil refinery after wildfires caused power cuts. The Aconcagua plant on the country’s central coast was placed in a what’s known as a safe position to begin gradually restarting operations, a company official said in text messages late Saturday.
The transport of copper from the large Los Bronces mine in central Chile has been unaffected by the fires, according to operator Anglo American Plc. Codelco, with its nearby Andina mine, also said its operations are unaffected.
Finance Minister Mario Marcel has said reconstruction will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Boric, who visited the area, declared two days of national mourning starting Monday.
(By James Attwood and Andrea Jaramillo)
Chile wildfires kill at least 51 in 'unprecedented catastrophe'
by Javier TORRES with Paula BUSTAMANTE in Santiago
FEBRUARY 4, 2024
President Gabriel Boric has declared a state of emergency as fires rage across parts of central and southern Chile.
Wildfires blazing across Chile have killed at least 51 people, leaving bodies in the street and homes gutted, with flames continuing to spread on Sunday and the toll expected to rise.
President Gabriel Boric has decreed a state of emergency in the central and southern parts of the country "due to catastrophe," as dry conditions and temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) exacerbated the crisis.
Dense gray smoke blanketed the city of Vina del Mar of the Valparaiso tourist region, along central Chile's coastline, forcing residents to flee.
Rosana Avendano, a 63-year-old kitchen assistant, was away from home when the fire began to sweep through El Olivar, an area of Vina del Mar, where she lives with her husband.
"It was terrible because I couldn't get (to my house). The fire came here... we lost everything," Avendano told AFP.
"My husband was lying down and began to feel the heat of the fire coming and he ran away."
She feared the worst for hours, but eventually was able to contact her spouse.
The death toll rose to 51 on Saturday as firefighters battled to control the flames. The forensic medical service had previously reported 45 deaths, but "there are six more people who died in health care facilities," according to interior under-secretary Manuel Monsalve.
Wildfires blazing across Chile have killed at least 51 people, leaving bodies in the street and homes gutted, with flames continuing to spread on Sunday and the toll expected to rise.
President Gabriel Boric has decreed a state of emergency in the central and southern parts of the country "due to catastrophe," as dry conditions and temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) exacerbated the crisis.
Dense gray smoke blanketed the city of Vina del Mar of the Valparaiso tourist region, along central Chile's coastline, forcing residents to flee.
Rosana Avendano, a 63-year-old kitchen assistant, was away from home when the fire began to sweep through El Olivar, an area of Vina del Mar, where she lives with her husband.
"It was terrible because I couldn't get (to my house). The fire came here... we lost everything," Avendano told AFP.
"My husband was lying down and began to feel the heat of the fire coming and he ran away."
She feared the worst for hours, but eventually was able to contact her spouse.
The death toll rose to 51 on Saturday as firefighters battled to control the flames. The forensic medical service had previously reported 45 deaths, but "there are six more people who died in health care facilities," according to interior under-secretary Manuel Monsalve.
Firefighters at work in the hills of Valparaiso region on February 3, 2024.
Boric said the number of victims would increase, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet.
Authorities imposed a curfew beginning at 9:00 pm Saturday (0000 GMT Sunday), to allow emergency supplies—especially fuel—into the affected areas.
New evacuation orders were issued, though it remained unclear exactly how many people had been told to leave.
Earlier Saturday, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said there had been 92 fires as of noon, with 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres) burned across the country. Firefighters were still battling 29 of the blazes by the afternoon, while 40 had been brought under control.
In the hillsides around the coastal city of Vina del Mar, entire blocks of houses were burned out overnight, AFP reporters saw Saturday morning, as thousands of people who had previously evacuated returned to find their homes destroyed.
Some of the dead were seen lying on the road, covered by sheets.
Boric said the number of victims would increase, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet.
Authorities imposed a curfew beginning at 9:00 pm Saturday (0000 GMT Sunday), to allow emergency supplies—especially fuel—into the affected areas.
New evacuation orders were issued, though it remained unclear exactly how many people had been told to leave.
Earlier Saturday, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said there had been 92 fires as of noon, with 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres) burned across the country. Firefighters were still battling 29 of the blazes by the afternoon, while 40 had been brought under control.
In the hillsides around the coastal city of Vina del Mar, entire blocks of houses were burned out overnight, AFP reporters saw Saturday morning, as thousands of people who had previously evacuated returned to find their homes destroyed.
Some of the dead were seen lying on the road, covered by sheets.
Aerial view of the aftermath of a fire in the hills around Vina del Mar, Chile.
The area, about 1.5 hours northwest of the capital Santiago, is a popular tourist destination during the summer months. The coastal region is also important for the country's wine, agricultural and logging industries.
In the towns of Estrella and Navidad, southwest of the capital, the fires burned nearly 30 homes, and forced evacuations near the surfing resort of Pichilemu.
"It's very distressing, because we've evacuated the house but we can't move forward," said 63-year-old Yvonne Guzman, who fled her home in Quilpue with her elderly mother, only to be trapped in traffic for hours.
"There are all these people trying to get out and who can't move," she told AFP.
Vina del Mar Mayor Macarena Ripamonti said, "We're facing an unprecedented catastrophe, a situation of this magnitude has never happened in the Valparaiso region."
The area, about 1.5 hours northwest of the capital Santiago, is a popular tourist destination during the summer months. The coastal region is also important for the country's wine, agricultural and logging industries.
In the towns of Estrella and Navidad, southwest of the capital, the fires burned nearly 30 homes, and forced evacuations near the surfing resort of Pichilemu.
"It's very distressing, because we've evacuated the house but we can't move forward," said 63-year-old Yvonne Guzman, who fled her home in Quilpue with her elderly mother, only to be trapped in traffic for hours.
"There are all these people trying to get out and who can't move," she told AFP.
Vina del Mar Mayor Macarena Ripamonti said, "We're facing an unprecedented catastrophe, a situation of this magnitude has never happened in the Valparaiso region."
A man douses a burned building with water in Quilpe, where wildfires blazed through the night.
'Extreme'
Several thousand hectares have burned in Valparaiso alone, according to CONAF, the Chilean national forest authority.
Images from trapped motorists have gone viral online, showing mountains in flames at the end of the famous "Route 68," a road traveled by thousands of tourists to reach the Pacific coast.
In addition to Valparaiso, firefighters and emergency services personnel were battling blazes in the center and south of Chile, including O'Higgins, Maule, Biobio, La Araucania and Los Lagos.
"This was an inferno," Rodrigo Pulgar, who lost his home in the inland town of El Olivar, told AFP. "I tried to help my neighbor... my house was starting to burn behind us. It was raining ash."
On Friday, authorities closed the road linking Valparaiso to the capital Santiago, as a huge mushroom cloud of smoke "reduced visibility."
'Extreme'
Several thousand hectares have burned in Valparaiso alone, according to CONAF, the Chilean national forest authority.
Images from trapped motorists have gone viral online, showing mountains in flames at the end of the famous "Route 68," a road traveled by thousands of tourists to reach the Pacific coast.
In addition to Valparaiso, firefighters and emergency services personnel were battling blazes in the center and south of Chile, including O'Higgins, Maule, Biobio, La Araucania and Los Lagos.
"This was an inferno," Rodrigo Pulgar, who lost his home in the inland town of El Olivar, told AFP. "I tried to help my neighbor... my house was starting to burn behind us. It was raining ash."
On Friday, authorities closed the road linking Valparaiso to the capital Santiago, as a huge mushroom cloud of smoke "reduced visibility."
The fires have enveloped Valparaiso in a thick mushroom cloud of smoke.
The fires are being driven by a summer heat wave and drought affecting the southern part of South America caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, as scientists warn that a warming planet has increased the risk of natural disasters such as intense heat and fires.
As Chile and Colombia battle rising temperatures, the heat wave is also threatening to sweep over Paraguay and Brazil.
In Argentina, brigades from several provinces have been fighting a fire that has consumed more than 3,000 hectares in Los Alerces National Park, famed for its beauty and biodiversity, since January 25.
© 2024 AFP
The fires are being driven by a summer heat wave and drought affecting the southern part of South America caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, as scientists warn that a warming planet has increased the risk of natural disasters such as intense heat and fires.
As Chile and Colombia battle rising temperatures, the heat wave is also threatening to sweep over Paraguay and Brazil.
In Argentina, brigades from several provinces have been fighting a fire that has consumed more than 3,000 hectares in Los Alerces National Park, famed for its beauty and biodiversity, since January 25.
© 2024 AFP
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