PENCO, Chile: At least 15 people died in a fierce fire that raged across central and southern Chile on Sunday, burning thousands of acres of forest and destroying homes. The incident came as the South American country is grappling with a devastating heat wave. Chilean President Gabriel Boric has declared a state of disaster in the central Biobio region, about 500 kilometers from the capital Santiago, and the neighboring Nubla region.
According to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero, the emergency declaration will help better coordinate with the army to control the forest fires, which have so far burned 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres). Fifty thousand people have been forced to flee their homes due to the fires.
President Boric wrote on social media platform X, "All resources are available." But local officials said the devastation continued for hours on Sunday, and no central government aid had arrived. “President Boric, I say from the bottom of my heart that I have been here for the last four hours, the whole community is burning, and there is no one from the government here,” said Rodrigo Vera, mayor of Penco, a small coastal town in the Biobio region.
Firefighters were trying their best to put out the flames, but were struggling due to strong winds and scorching heat, with temperatures reaching above 38 degrees Celsius.
Locals said the sudden fire that broke out just after midnight caught them by surprise and trapped them in their homes. “Many people did not go out. They stayed inside because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, who was surveying the scene in Penco. Smoke billowed into the sky, creating an orange haze.