President Gabriel Boric of Chile has called for unity and resolve in response to the deadly wildfires that have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and hundreds of thousands of hectares of land throughout the country’s south-central regions.
The circumstances that have allowed the flames to develop and burn through 270,000 hectares (667,184 acres) while killing at least 24 people so far, were predicted by authorities to continue this week.
The fires have already made 2023 the second-worst year on record in terms of hectares burned. They are the deadliest in the South American country in recent years. According to Chile’s National Forestry Corporation, 275 fires were still burning as of Monday morning.
“Unity to rebuild ourselves, unity to face the disaster. That has always been the method to overcome obstacles in our Chile, Boric stated on Twitter.
The wildfires, which have been exacerbated by high winds and temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, have harmed at least 1,182 people, according to the Chilean government on Sunday (104F). Additionally, nearly 1,100 dwellings were destroyed.
In Santa Juana, a village 53 kilometers (33 miles) south of Concepcion in the severely damaged Biobio region, social worker Maria Ines Hernandez, 55, said many homes in the area had been turned to ashes, leaving residents without a place to turn.
Hernandez told the AFP news agency, “Some of the houses were spared is a miracle. “Now, we worry that the fire will flare up again… Where shall we take cover? Where? How?”
Several nations in the region, including Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Peru, were expected to provide additional assistance. International aid and personnel started arriving on Sunday from Spain, Argentina, and Mexico.
180 experts trained in battling wildfires have departed for Chile, according to Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, to assist the country’s civil protection agency in putting out the fires.
The Portuguese government announced on Monday that it was prepared to deploy 140 firemen to assist in putting out the wildfires, but that it would hold off until Chilean officials responded regarding their ability to house the contingent.
According to Chilean officials, a so-called Ten Tanker aircraft with a 36,000-liter firefighting capacity is also scheduled to arrive on Monday.
In an effort to expedite relief, Chile declared states of emergency over the weekend for the primarily rural southern regions of Biobio, Nuble, and Araucania. Large forests and farms that produce grapes and other fruit for export may be found in the area.
In his Sunday address from the Araucanian city of Puren, President Boric emphasized that his government will give all necessary resources while also attempting to foster unity in the face of the horrific flames.
I’ve seen our people’s tenacity, and it’s precisely that spirit that has to lead us through this trying moment, he remarked. “When we put it all together, we’ll win this.”
Poor and remote, some of the areas affected by the fires have experienced violent battles between the Mapuche Indigenous people and the government, timber firms, and private landowners.
Farmer Miguel Angel Henriquez, 58, of Santa Juana, said he and his wife are lucky to be alive since they agonized over whether to flee the encroaching flames for too long. He told AFP, “We waited until the very end, but the flames blocked us off on all sides.
When they turned around and headed back in the direction they had come from, they encountered police, firefighters, and neighbors. I warned them as the flames got closer, saying, “Either we go right away, or we perish here. Behind the firetruck, we hid,” Henriquez remarked.
He continued by describing how he observed a neighbor face the flames in an effort to save some of his animals. “He didn’t emerge. He ignored my yells for him to get out of the fire.
