Wildfires across Chile kill 18 people and force thousands to flee

Panco, Chile — Wildfires that broke out in central and southern Chile on Sunday killed at least 18 people, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, officials said, as the South American country grapples with a heatwave.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of disaster in the country’s central Biobío region and the neighbouring Ñuble region, about 500 kilometres (300 miles) south of the capital, Santiago.

The emergency designation allows for greater coordination with the military to combat more than two dozen active wildfires, which have so far spread across 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres), according to the national forestry agency.

At a news conference from the hard-hit city of Concepcion in the Biobio region, Boric expressed his support and condolences for the victims and warned that the government’s initial report of 18 people killed and 300 homes destroyed was expected to rise as the extent of the damage became known.

He estimated that the total number of homes affected in the Biobio area alone “certainly exceeds a thousand by now.” Already, the fire in the hills has forced 50,000 people to evacuate.

He said, “As you know, the first priority in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot at any time forget that there are human tragedies here, that families are suffering.” “It is time.”

His address followed complaints from local officials that for hours, there was destruction everywhere and help nowhere.

Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region, expressed his heartfelt concerns to President Boric on a local radio station early Sunday. “How can a minister do nothing except call me and tell me that the army is going to arrive at some point?”

The heat and strong winds hampered the firefighters’ efforts to extinguish the fire. Temperatures reached 38 degrees Celsius (100°F) on Sunday, and the scorching weather is expected to last until Monday.

“The weather conditions in the coming hours are not good and indicate extreme temperatures,” Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde said.

Residents said the fire took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.

“Many people didn’t come out. They stayed in their homes because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where the smoke covered the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected this.”

The fire engulfed much of Penco, burning cars, a school, and a church. Thousands of people rushed to seek shelter in makeshift emergency shelters.

“We ran into the dark with the children,” said Juan Lagos, 52.

The government imposed a night curfew in the area. Burnt bodies were found in fields, houses, roadsides and cars.

“From what we can see, there are people who died … and we knew them well,” said Victor Barboa, 54. “Everyone here knew him.”

Wildfires hit central and southern Chile every summer, usually peaking in February as temperatures rise and the country grapples with years of drought. In 2024, a huge fire is raging across Chile’s central coastline, killing at least 130 people, making it the country’s deadliest natural disaster since the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Argentina, a neighbouring country, has also struggled to control forest fires. Thousands of acres of forest have been destroyed recently as the country’s southern Patagonia region experiences hot, dry weather.