At least two people died from a fire registered on Thursday in the upper area of the Vina del Mar city120 kilometers west of Santiago de Chile, which affected some 400 houses and forced the Chilean government to declare a state of emergency.
The flames, favored by strong gusts of wind, ravines and hills were consumed in a few hours until they reached the inhabited sectors of this seaside resort on the Chilean central coastneighboring the tourist port of Valparaíso, according to the AFP news agency.
?EMERGENCY? At this time, all of our Companies, with the support of CB of the Valparaiso Region, continue to work to control the fire declared in the upper sector of Viña del Mar.
?? WE REITERATE THE CALL OF THE COMMANDER, PATRICIO BRITO: DO NOT GO TO THE PLACE OF THE EMERGENCY ? pic.twitter.com/wO3KxSmgO7
– ViñadelMar Firefighters (@bomberosvina) December 23, 2022
“Approximately 200 houses are burning”said the commander of the Viña del Mar Fire Department, Patricio Brito, who later stated that the number of homes affected had risen to 400. Brito also confirmed the death of two people product of the accident.
“The fire started in a sector called Nueva Esperanza 2000; it crossed and reached these two parcels and is going down to the north, towards Quinta Vergara through a deep ravine,” explained the mayor of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti .
Some of the evacuees left through Quinta Vergara, the amphitheater where the Viña de Mar International Song Festival is held every year, according to television images.
The National Emergency Office (Onemi) said it was a “fire with rapid spread, high heat intensity and dispersion”which had preliminarily affected some 110 hectares.
He decreed a communal “red alert” for Viña del Mar and ordered the evacuation of the Tranque Sur, Puerto Montt, Puerto Aysén, Cabritera, Forestal Alto, Siete Hermanas sectors and the informal settlement called “Felipe Camiroaga”.
???̃? ??? ??? | Firefighters will work to remove debris and search the damaged homes in the Forestal and Viña del Mar Alto sectors.
▪️ 10 cars and 50 RM Firefighters are en route to help.
▪️ The finding of 2 bodies is confirmed. pic.twitter.com/iOZsYuu9yh– Firefighters of Chile (@BomberosdeChile) December 23, 2022
The government declared a state of emergency
In view of the seriousness of the fire, the government of President Gabriel Boric decreed the state of emergency.
“The President of the Republic has instructed to declare a state of constitutional exception of catastrophe due to public calamity” in the Valparaíso region, announced the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve.
For this reason, a head of National Defense will have the power, eventually, to limit constitutional rights and to take control and requisition all the goods that are required to face the emergency in the area.
“There was a very quick response to the start of this fire but despite this, as a result of the place where this fire develops, the weather conditions, the wind and the presence of combustible material, it spreads very aggressively and quickly,” Monsalve explained.
The fire was encouraged by wind gusts of between 40 and 50 kilometers per hour that complicated the work of forest brigade members and firefighters.
150 forestry brigade members and 400 firefighters were working in the fight against the incidentalmost all from companies in the Valparaíso region and some that came from the Santiago Metropolitan region.
“We will not leave you alone,” President Boric posted on his Twitter account.
I have instructed to decree a State of Constitutional Exception of Catastrophe to have all the necessary tools to fight the fires that affect Viña del Mar. We will not leave you alone.
—Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) December 23, 2022
“Our priority as the Government of Chile is the safety of the people and we will continue deploying all the necessary resources to control the emergency,” added the president.
The director of the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) of the Valparaíso region, Luis Correa, reported for his part that controlling the fire will take at least a couple of days.
