Forest fires continue in the south-central zone of the country. After the activation of new outbreaks, and after activating the Emergency Alert System (SAE), the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) ordered the evacuation of three towns located in the Biobío and La Araucanía regions.
On the one hand, in the Coronel commune, the former Onemi alert reached the Quetra sector and the San Ricardo sector, while the Queipul sector in the Victoria commune was ordered to evacuate. Through the SAE system, Senapred communicated: “Act calmly and abide by the indications of the authority and the response teams.”
The presidential delegate in the Biobío Region, Daniela Dresdner, explained that “two sectors of Coronel have been evacuated, they are in evacuation at this time, due to the vicinity of the flames.” There are 11 land brigades, 6 helicopters and 3 gates deployed in that fire, added delegate Dresdner, according to the newspaper La Tercera.
The presidential delegate in the Araucanía Region, José Montalva, reported for his part that the preliminary record indicates 6-7 affected homes. “We are working with 8 ground brigades, the Super Tanker made a retardant discharge here in Victoria, the C-130 has also made 2 discharges. We continue working,” he said.
Montalva added that the emergency forced the evacuation of two gasoline pumps that were located on Route 5 South, an area where there was abundant smoke that made visibility difficult for several kilometers, “but now at this moment the route is expedited.”
