Forest fires kill 51 in Chile, threaten urban areas

Wildfires raging in central Chile have killed at least 51 people and the death toll is likely to continue to rise, authorities said Saturday, as emergency services battle to extinguish flames threatening urban areas.

Black smoke billowed into the sky over many areas of the Valparaiso region, home to nearly a million residents in central Chile, as firefighters using helicopters and trucks scrambled to put out the blazes.

Areas around the coastal tourist town of Vina del Mar were hardest hit and rescue teams were trying to reach all affected areas, Chilean authorities said.

The death toll rose after five bodies were found on public roads and information suggests “we will reach much higher numbers” in the coming hours, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said.

“Valparaiso’s situation is the most sensitive,” Toha said, saying the country was facing its worst disaster since the 2010 earthquake that killed about 500 people.

Also read: At least 24 dead in Chile as wildfires spread, sending many fleeing for safety

President Gabriel Boric told the nation in a televised address: “The situation is really very difficult.”

Fires are not uncommon in Chile during the summer months. Last year, after a record heat wave, about 27 people died and more than 400,000 hectares (990,000 acres) were affected.

“The area with fires today is much smaller than last year, (but) right now the number of affected hectares is multiplying very quickly,” Toha said.

Between Friday and Saturday the area affected by the fires increased to 43,000 hectares (110,000 acres) from 30,000.

Toha said authorities’ biggest concern was that some of the active fires were growing very close to urban areas “with the very high potential to affect people, homes and facilities.”