Chile wildfires death toll nears 100 as over 26,000 hectares burned

A factory is seen after a forest fire that affected the hills in Quilpue, Viña del Mar, Chile, on February 3, 2024. — AFP

Chilean authorities noted Sunday that the wildfires claimed at least 99 lives, with President Gabriel Boric terming the catastrophe as the deadliest since an earthquake and a tsunami in 2010. 

President Boric had earlier warned that the numbers are expected to rise “significantly” after the deadly fire engulfed the tourist region Valparaiso, that saw temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius. 

According to the officials overseeing the victims’ bodies noted Sunday that they had taken in 99 people, 32 of them identified.

Chilean President while speaking earlier in Quilpue had said that 64 people were dead, with a warning that the number was certainly “going to rise.”

“We know it is going to increase significantly,” he added, saying it was the country’s deadliest disaster since a 2010 earthquake and tsunami that killed 500 people.

A state of emergency was also declared by the President, pledging government support to help people get back on their feet during his visit to the areas affected by the wildfires.

Burned homes and vehicles are seen after a forest fire in Quilpue, Viña del Mar, Chile, on February 4, 2024. — AFP

According to the national disaster service, SENAPRED, nearly 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) had been burned across the central and southern regions by Sunday.

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 said firefighters were battling 34 blazes as of Sunday morning, with 43 others under control.

“Weather conditions are going to continue to be complicated,” Hormazabal said.

Authorities imposed a curfew beginning at 9:00pm Saturday, while thousands in the affected areas were ordered to evacuate their homes.

Deadliest fire in Chile’s history

The fires, raging for days, forced authorities 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.

According to Interior Minister Carolina Toha, the weekend blazes have been “without a doubt” the deadliest fire event in Chile’s history.

Pope Francis in his Sunday’s address called for prayers for the “dead and wounded in the devastating fires in Chile.”

The fires are being driven by a summer heatwave and drought affecting the southern part of South America caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, as scientists warn that a warming planet has increased the risk of natural disasters such as intense heat and fires.

The rising temperatures threaten to engulf more of the continent, as brigades in Argentina 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.

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