The forest fires in Chile revived with force in the regions of Biobío and La Araucanía, located in the south of the country. The Minister of the Interior of that country, Carola Tohá, said that “the fire reached very worrying characteristics.” For his part, the Minister of Housing and Urbanism, Carlos Montes, declared that the risk of the reactivation of the flames in the town of Biobío is very great because the accidents affect the population and industry.
The forest fires in Chile revived with greater force this Saturday, February 18, in the regions of Biobío and La Araucanía, located in the south of the country. The Minister of the Interior, Carola Tohadetailed that “the fire reached very worrying characteristics” in populated areas, such as the commune of Teodoro Schmidt and Victoria.
As explained by the Secretary of State, “things developed in a much more severe way than expected” in the Biobío region, generating situations of great “tension” in El Cortijo, Santa Ana and Coronel.
The Executive reported that around 25% of the fires registered so far in 2023 have been intentional, phenomena that during the last two weeks have claimed the lives of 25 people and have burned more than 400,000 hectares throughout the year. country.
Also read: The forestry industry is responsible for the mega-fires in Chile
The data provided by Minister Tohá is based on evaluations carried out by the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), which to date has investigated 600 accidents in 2023.
For his part, the Minister of Housing and Urbanism, Carlos Montes, declared that “a very great risk is being taken” with the reactivation of the flames in Biobío and the claims affect “population and industry.”
After leading a new meeting on Saturday, February 18, with the Disaster Risk Management Committee (Cogrid), Montes summarized the situation: “yesterday, all the assumptions that were made were overcome by reality, the fire advanced at a rate older and with infections, with jumps 800 meters, 1 kilometer away ”.
During the last two weeks, more than 7,000 people have been affected during the emergency, described as one of the worst catastrophes suffered by the South American country in terms of forest fires.
Until now, more than 430,000 hectares have been consumed by the llamas, 200,000 of them registered in the Biobío region in the southern part of the country.
With information from EFE
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