In central Chile, firefighters are struggling against severe forest fires that claimed 112 lives, destroying entire neighborhoods. President Gabriel Boric warns of a “tragedy of very great magnitude.”
Authorities report hundreds still missing, fueling concerns of a rising death toll as more bodies are discovered on hillsides and devastated houses from the wildfires.
The intensifying fires, now threatening Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, pose risks to two coastal cities popular with tourists. The urban sprawl of these areas encompasses over a million residents west of Santiago.
“The wind was terrible, the heat scorching. There was no respite. People dispersed everywhere,” said Pedro Quezada, a local builder in the Valparaiso region, standing amid the charred debris of his destroyed home.
Social media videos depict hillside fires near Valparaiso’s apartment blocks, emitting dense smoke. Thick haze envelops urban zones, impairing visibility.
Chile implements a 9 p.m. curfew in heavily affected areas, deploying the military to aid firefighters. Helicopters drop water to combat the fires. The death toll, initially at 51 on Saturday, rises to 112 according to Chile’s Legal Medical Service. President Boric declares two days of national mourning, urging preparedness for additional distressing news.
“It is Chile as a whole that suffers and mourns our dead,” Boric said in a televised speech to the nation. “We are facing a tragedy of very great magnitude.”
Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve reveals 165 fires across Chile, estimating 14,000 homes damaged in Vina del Mar and Quilpué. Residents returning to their homes find them nearly unrecognizable, losing life’s possessions.
Sergio Espejo, 64, a welder, and his wife, Maria Soledad Suarez, 61, sift through the ashes of their soldering workshop and home in the Vina del Mar region. Suarez salvages a plate and a part of a porcelain doll from the embers while searching for jewelry. Espejo mourns the loss of all his tools scattered beneath mangled iron beams, reflecting on the extensive damage. “Here is my workshop, it’s destroyed,” he said. “All the sacrifice, all in a lifetime.”
While wildfires are typical in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, the severity of these blazes marks Chile’s worst national disaster since the 2010 earthquake, where about 500 people died. Last year, a record heat wave led to 27 deaths and over 400,000 hectares of land affected. President Boric aims to allocate funds to the hardest-hit areas, several of which are tourist destinations.
“We are together, all of us, fighting the emergency. The priority is to save lives,” Boric said.
