The Government of Chile announced this Saturday that the serious forest fires that are ravaging the central-southern area of the country have already left at least 51 dead, making it one of the deadliest in recent history. “I have confirmation of 40 people who died during the fires and six additional people in hospital facilities as a result of burns,” said the president, Gabriel Boric, about the conflagration that mainly affects the region of Valparaíso and, specifically, cities like Viña. del Mar and Quilpue. Boric has assured in a statement from La Moneda that “the number of victims will increase in the coming hours.” And so it was: the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, almost at midnight said that there were five new confirmed deaths.
The president stated that this tragedy could have been caused voluntarily. “The eventual intention behind these fires is being investigated and, although it is difficult to imagine who could be willing to cause so much tragedy and pain, know that it will be investigated to the fullest extent and with all the necessary resources,” added the president. The Armed Forces and Carabineros monitor the affected territories.
According to the regional prosecutor of Valparaíso, Claudia Perivancich, in statements to CNN Chile, “there are preliminary indications” of intentionality, “which has to do with the detection of several sources of fire that would have occurred simultaneously, and that is a powerful indication.” She added that the Environmental Crimes Brigade of the Investigative Police (PDI) is investigating the events, for which they have analyzed the four fire outbreaks in the region, collected evidence and explored the place.
On Friday, the president decreed a state of emergency due to the catastrophe in the provinces of Valparaíso and Marga Marga, which will allow his Government to “have all the necessary resources” to combat the emergency and help families. He has instructed the Ministry of Defense to deploy more military units in the affected areas and called on the population to follow the instructions of the corresponding authorities so as not to hinder the rescue and firefighting missions. As had been announced hours before, the Government establishes a curfew from 9:00 p.m. on Saturday to 10:00 a.m. on Sunday in four municipalities, as on the previous day: Limache, Quilpué, Villa Alemana and Viña del Mar. “It is essential to guarantee the public order and the safety of our compatriots. We will use all the constitutional tools available to guarantee security and tranquility,” said the president who flew over the disaster areas at noon.
Boric said that the curfew will help clear the routes for emergency vehicles to arrive, facilitate evacuations and, incidentally, will contribute “to ensuring that there is no one loitering in the places where the decision to evacuate is made,” in reference to the looting that has already been reported in municipalities like Quilpué. Threats of robberies make it difficult for residents of burned areas to leave their homes.
The public and private health network is coordinated to care for the injured, said Boric, who expressed his condolences to family, friends and loved ones of the fatal victims. He sent a “big hug” to those who lost their home and thanked “deeply those who are giving the best of themselves to combat this tragedy,” especially the Firefighters, brigade members of the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), Carabineros, the personnel of Armed Forces, health workers, municipal workers and public officials, “in addition to civil society that always rises up in the face of tragedies of this type.”
The fire, which affects the central-southern area of Chile, has already burned at least 43,000 hectares nationwide, according to the balance sheet this Saturday morning. According to the Minister of Housing, Carlos Montes, the affected homes “range between 3,000 and 6,000,” although “you have to see the degree of damage, the complete situation, in short (…) The amount is very large.”
In the Valparaíso region, Boric said, there are four large active fires: in Viña del Mar in the Las Tablas sector, which started in Peñuelas; in Quilpué-Villa Alemana; in Quillota and in the Curauma sector. It is in Viña del Mar, however, where it has gotten out of control, according to the brigade members. The Fire Commander of this city, Patricio Brito, has assured that the emergency “became very complicated” this Saturday. “Right now we have chaos,” he admitted, later expressing that the available units are not enough to control the flames. Reinforcements have arrived from other regions, he said, but these are not enough. “We have many burned houses plus factories,” he stated in reference to explosions such as the one at the Tricolor paint factory, in the industrial sector of Viña del Mar, in images that circulate on social networks, like so many of the tragedy.
Boric announced that this Sunday he will be on the ground and that his Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, will inform the public about the resources deployed in the face of what he described as “a really very difficult situation.” “The fire is advancing very quickly and the weather conditions we have had, both yesterday and today, have made fighting the fires much more complicated: high temperatures, strong winds, with an average of 30 kilometers per hour and with gusts of up to 60 kilometers per hour, and, in addition, low humidity,” said the president.
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