February 6, 2023, 9:05 AM
February 6, 2023, 9:05 AM
At least 24 people have died and more than 1,182 have been injured in the voracious fires in Chile. The flames have consumed three regions in the south of the country, where the heat wave and drought are hitting hard. On the afternoon of Sunday, February 5, 283 fires were still burning and thousands of hectares had already gone up in smoke. A state of catastrophe has been declared throughout the area.
With our correspondent in Santiago, Naïla Derroisné
Fanned by moderate to strong and temperatures above 40°Cthe fires have devastated some 270,000 hectares in five days, destroying 1,081 homes, authorities said.
Television networks show huge clouds of black smoke and flames taller than the houses that advance at an impressive speed. Sometimes residents barely have time to grab a few things before they have to run out of the area to escape the monstrous fire. More than 800 homes and 13 schools were destroyed, and several hundred people had to be relocated.
According to him National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred)the active fires on Sunday were 283, of which 71 were in combat.
The Chilean government announced the arrest of 10 people suspected of being behind some of the fires. As to Gabriel Boric, You have interrupted your vacation. The Chilean president attended the wake of a volunteer firefighter in the town of Coronel on Sunday. On Sunday she visited the city of Concepción, 510 km south of Santiago, and toured the devastated areas.
“There are indications that some of the fires were caused by unauthorized burning. There is no authorization to carry out burnings, neither of garbage nor agricultural waste, ”he warned. The National Forestry Office of Chile reports that in 99% of cases, human activity is the cause of forest fires: careless fire management, poor agricultural practices, or arson.
A few weeks ago, a megafire ripped through part of the coastal city of Viña del Mar. There, residents suspect that the real estate sector has set fires to gain access to the land and build on it.
to face these megafiresChile is receiving international aid: Spain, the United States, Mexico and several South American countries are sending men and, in some cases, equipment, helicopters and planes to help.
He French President Emmanuel Macron He also reacted on Twitter, stating that “the Chilean people can count on the support of France to fight against this scourge.”
