The Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, referred this morning to the forest fires that are reported nationwide, reported emol.com.
In this context, regarding the mega-fire that occurred in Viña del Mar this week, he called to “put the same energy into prevention” as “to confronting emergencies.”
“This is the moment to prevent this tragedy from being replicated in other places. Here the call is to all institutions, the private sector and civil society, to put the same energy into prevention that we put into confronting the emergencies. We were very encouraged and mobilized when the fire started, well, you have to be encouraged before it starts to prevent it from igniting,” said Onemi.
Along the same lines, the Secretary of State noted that “we are planning a series of actions by Onemi, Conaf and from the Government, to develop what we announce is the mitigation plan.” That, as he indicated, “is going to include measures in the same place of the fire and in the area, in the region, around this place. At the site, apart from the clearance that is going to start today, Conaf is planning an action of restoration in all the ravine that caught fire”, this since it detailed that “there are new risks”.
Prevention plan
In this sense, he clarified that “we have a plan that consists of taking measures in the environment to activate firebreak works, to work with the community, to clear places of risk.”
“When emergencies happen, we normally tend to relax with prevention, but when there is a tragedy like the one experienced in Viña so recently, perhaps it is the moment in which we can become aware of how important prevention is. If we had had clear, we probably wouldn’t have to regret the consequences that we are suffering today,” he said.
According to what he stated, “70 fires have been fought between yesterday and today. Of these, 32 are already 32 extinguished. Meanwhile, there are 38 that are still active, and of the active ones there are 28 controlled and 10 in combat.”
However, he specified that “the fires on Red Alert at this time are two, one of them includes two communes, so there are three alerts, but two fires. One is in the Chiguayante commune and the second includes the communes of San Peter and Saint Dominic”. Tohá clarified that the Viña del Mar incident is in a “controlled” situation and added “it has left the Red Alert.”
Although he emphasized that “this does not mean that it is completely extinguished, there are still sources of heat and care measures, but the fire is contained and does not represent a direct alert for the population living in the environment.”
Valparaiso Authorities
Meanwhile, the authorities of the Valparaíso region delivered a new update on the situation of the fire that affected a good part of Viña del Mar, which is already “controlled”, noting that it is already moving to a second stage as soon as to the emergency.
This was stated by the regional delegate Sofía González, stating that “we are passing the first emergency phase, the fire is under control and we are on the way to rehabilitate the place.”
In this sense, he stressed that it is about “rehabilitation with its levels, with respect to basic issues such as water, bathrooms, light, regarding the security of the sectors.” In addition, he assured that “tomorrow the Minvu teams will deploy and they will do the cadastre” of the homes and families affected.
Another issue that worries the residents of the affected area is the possible seizure of land, to which González urged that those who notice this type of situation alert the authorities through official channels.
The mayoress of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti, was along the same lines, although noting that so far they have not had formal complaints on the matter.
The mayor, on the other hand, affirmed that, after the control of the fire, “today we have the priority of removing the maximum amount of rubble from the sector, mainly from Tranque Sur.” He also called for those who want to go help voluntarily, not to go up to the affected sector and to coordinate with the municipality, since “there is such a level of disaster that we only have one street to go up and down”, so displacements are not ideal.
Finally, Ripamonti was asked again about whether to consider suspending the New Year’s celebrations in the “Garden City”, ruling out referring to it, noting that everything that has to do with the response to the emergency “is our north of concern”.
For his part, the Head of National Defense for the State of Catastrophe, René Rojas, asserted that the “fire is under control, not extinguished, because there are still hot spots in the area of the ravines.” Meanwhile, he reported that 201 people received health care in the context of the emergency, of which only one remains hospitalized with 30% of the body burned, but with minor injuries.
