Chile forest fires: Flames engulf central Chile killing at least 64

By:

Patricia Luna and Manuel Rueda

4 Feb, 2024 10:40 PM2 mins to read

A resident flees an encroaching forest fire in Vina del Mar, Chile. Photo / AP

Firefighters wrestled on Sunday with massive forest fires that broke out in central Chile two days earlier, as officials extended curfews in cities most heavily affected by the blazes and said at least 64 people were killed.

The fires have been burning with the highest intensity around the city of Vina del Mar, where a famous botanical garden founded in 1931 was destroyed by the flames on Sunday. At least 1600 people were left without homes.

Burnt cars lie in a street after a forest fire reached a neighbourhood in Vina del Mar, Chile. Photo / AP

Several neighborhoods on the eastern edge of Vina del Mar have been devoured by flames and smoke, trapping some people in their homes. Officials said 200 people had been reported missing in Vina del Mar and the surrounding area. The city of 300,000 people is a popular beach resort and also hosts a famous music festival during the Southern Hemisphere summer.

Residents in Vina del Mar, Chile, watch as a plume of smoke from forest fires rises into the sky. Photo / AP

Rodrigo Mundaca, the governor of the Valparaiso region, said on Sunday that he believed some of the fires could have been intentionally caused, replicating a theory that had also been mentioned on Saturday by President Gabriel Boric.

“These fires began in four points that lit up simultaneously,” Mundaca said. “As authorities, we will have to work rigorously to find who is responsible.”

The fires around Vina del Mar began in mountainous forested areas that are hard to reach. But they have moved into densely populated neighbourhoods on the city’s periphery despite efforts by Chilean authorities to slow down the flames.

Residents evacuate on a motorcycle as smoke caused by forest fires fill the sky and flames spread into Vina del Mar, Chile. Photo / AP

On Saturday President Gabriel Boric said unusually high temperatures, low humidity and high wind speeds were making it difficult to control the wildlfires in central Chile that have already burned through 8000ha of forests and urban areas.

Officials are asking people in areas affected by the fires to evacuate their homes as quickly as possible, while those further from the fires are being told to stay at home to facilitate the movement of fire engines and ambulances.

Curfews have been declared in Vina del Mar and the neighbouring cities of Quilpe and Villa Alemana as part of an effort to prevent looting.

The fires broke out during a week of record-high temperatures in central Chile. Over the past two months, the El Nino weather pattern has caused droughts and high temperatures in western South America that have also increased the risk of forest fires.

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