State of Emergency Declared as Wildfires Decimate Popular Vacation Destination
A popular tourist destination has declared a state of emergency after wildfires left more than a dozen people dead, reported the BBC.
Wildfires Rage Across Chile
Chile has declared a state of emergency as wildfires have burned through about 21,000 acres and left at least 18 people dead. The Associated Press reported that roughly 300 homes have been destroyed and more than 50,000 residents evacuated from the Ñuble and Bio Bio regions amidst the ongoing threat. "In response to the ongoing wildfires, I have declared a state of emergency in the Ñuble and Bio Bio regions,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric posted to X on Sunday, Jan. 18. “All resources are available."
CONAF, Chile’s forestry agency, confirmed that first responders are battling 24 active fires across the country. The largest blazes are in Ñuble and Bio Bio, which both rest about 310 miles from the country’s capital, Santiago.
Some Still Accuse Government of 'Do[ing] Nothing'
The emergency designation ostensibly allows stronger military coordination as officials work to contain the two dozen wildfires. But some local officials have accused the president of not doing enough. “Dear president Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no [government] presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of Penco, a small coastal village in the Biobío region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Many residents were apparently caught unaware by the blaze, which began shortly after midnight when most people were in bed. “Many people didn’t evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzmán, 55, a resident of Penco. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it.”
Witnesses Recall Horrific Scenes
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” recalled another Penco resident, 52-year-old John Lagos. Citizens and officials alike described a harrowing scene in which charred bodies could be spotted on the sides of the roads in cars, fields, and their homes, caught as they tried to escape. “From what we can see, there are people who died…and we knew them well,” resident Víctor Burboa, 54, said. “Everyone here knew them.”
All but one of the fatalities recorded have occurred in Penco. “We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death,” said student Matias Cid, 25. In the port town of Lirquén, according to 57-year-old Alejandro Arredondo, “There is nothing left standing.” Arredondo reported that many of the village’s residents saved themselves from the flames by running to the beach and diving into the ocean.