around ten deaths feared in forest fires, state of exception declared

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in order to “have all the necessary means” in the face of the progression of the fires.

Emergency services were activated on Saturday, February 3, in Chile where a state of exception was declared the day before in order to fight against violent forest fires which are spreading in tourist regions of the Latin American country. “We have preliminary information indicating several people have died, around ten”announced Sofía Gonzáles Cortés, the state representative in the Valparaiso region (center).

The fires have plunged the popular seaside resort of Vina del Mar, along the Pacific coast in the Valparaiso region, into a cloud of smoke and are threatening hundreds of homes, prompting forced evacuations. Firefighters have been fighting tirelessly since Friday against around ten homes in the regions of Valparaíso and O’Higgins in the center, but also Maule, Biobío, La Araucanía and Los Lagos, in the south.

The “extreme evolution” of the fire

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in order to “have all the necessary means” faced with the progression of fires. “All forces are deployed in the fight against forest fires”assured the Head of State in a message posted on the social network

In the Valparaiso region alone, the fire devoured more than 7,000 hectares, according to CONAF, the Chilean national forestry office, pointing out the“extreme evolution” of the fire. Images that have gone viral on social networks, shot by trapped motorists, show the mountains engulfed in flames at the end of the famous “route 68”a road used by thousands of tourists to get to the Pacific beaches.