The commanders of the Viña del Mar and Valparaíso Fire Departments –patrick britto Y Vincent Maggiolorespectively – ordered this Thursday that the corresponding fire companies be quartered before the forest fires that affect the region.
“By instruction of the commander, Patricio Brito, given the complexity of the forest fires (…) we proceed with a general quartering for all the companies of the Viña del Mar Fire Department,” said the Ciudad Jardín Fire Department in its account. Twitter.
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?QUARTERS ? At this time, by instruction of the Commander, Patricio Brito, given the complexity of the forest fires that keep us with 2 simultaneous Supports, we proceed with General Quartering for all the Fire Companies of Viña del Mar https://t.co/sab3vmNIKa
– ViñadelMar Firefighters (@bomberosvina) December 15, 2022
For his part, Commander Maggiolo pointed to Bio Bio Radio that “there are different incidents in the Valparaíso region and as a fire brigade we find ourselves in quarters to be prepared to support other colleagues in emergencies.”
Yellow alert for Valparaíso Region
The Presidential Delegation of the Valparaíso Region, in coordination with the National Emergency Office of the Ministry of the Interior (Onemi), decreed a yellow alert for the entire area this Thursday afternoon. This, due to the simultaneous development of forest fires.
With the yellow alert declaration, “the necessary resources will be enlisted in stages, in additional support to what has already been deployed by Conaf, Firefighters and the National System for Disaster Prevention and Response (Sinapred); to intervene according to the evolution of the event, with in order to prevent it from growing in extent and severity, minimizing the negative effects on people, their property and the environment,” Onemi said in a statement.
During this day, in the Valparaíso Region, forest fires have been registered in different communes, such as Villa Alemana, Valparaíso and Santo Domingo.
Onemi reported at 3:35 p.m. that the incident affecting Villa Alemana, in the Quebrada Escobar sector, consumed an approximate area of 50 hectares.
For its part, the fire in Valparaíso, in the La Planchada sector, burned an area of 0.5 hectares.
Finally, the incident in Santo Domingo, in the Panguirosa sector, has consumed an area of 500 hectares.
Onemi Recommendations
Onemi recommended that the population “keep the surroundings of houses clear of vegetation and debris that can be burned; avoid smoking in places with vegetation that can burn; not light bonfires or manipulate heat sources in areas close to vegetation.”
In turn, he invited information through the Prepared Chili Viewer on the areas with the highest risk of forest fires.
“In case of observing smoke or fire in areas of vegetation, notify: CONAF (130), Firefighters (132), Police (133) or PDI (134),” the agency added.
