Different fires registered at the same time In the central region of Valparaíso, 100 kilometers east of Santiago, caused many victims Earlier this Saturday, Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency due to the disaster in order to mobilize the necessary resources to face the emergency.
“We do not have a confirmed number victims. We have different data, some reports talk about 10 people, some 16 people, but tomorrow morning with daylight we will have a more solid number,” reported Interior Minister Carolina Tohá.
Tohá said it was estimated that there were a thousand houses affected and announced that he was taking action. curfew from 08:00 local time until noon Saturday in various parts of the Valparaíso region to expedite the arrival of emergency services and prevent unnecessary travel.
Sectors most affected by the fire include the towns of Quilpué and Villa Alemana, as well as El Olivar and the Chacao Canal in the hills surrounding the coastal city of Viña del Mar. “We are facing an unprecedented disaster,” Viñamarina mayor Macarena Ripamonti admitted hours ago.
Towards midnight, president Gabriel Boric said, state of emergency due to disaster In the Valparaíso region, it allows it to mobilize resources more quickly to extinguish fires. “The situation with the forest fires, especially in the fifth district, is very difficult due to the temperatures and winds, but know that we are tasked to do our best to face the emergency,” the president added.
fires simultaneously One of the most intense heat waves in recent yearsTemperatures in the central region reached 38 degrees Celsius.
Due to the simultaneous nature of the fires, Minister Tohá said: They are suspected of being “deliberate” and warned that the region would once again experience high temperatures and strong winds that could fan the flames over the weekend.
Last year, Chile experienced the deadliest wave of fires in its history, killing 27 people and destroying thousands of homes in the country’s south-central regions, including La Araucanía, Biobío and Ñuble. Experts attribute this to the unusual increase in temperatures and the impact of the forestry model based on monoculture of pine and eucalyptus.
Although Chile has experienced one of the wettest winters in the last 15 years, experts have been warning for months that the drought has not gone away and that there is a high probability of thin, dead vegetation that is easy to burn in the central region. . -South.