Saturday, February 4, 2023 | 12:30 p.m.
The serious forest fires that are registered in various regions of southern Chile caused the death of at least 1 people until this Friday. There are more than 100 houses affected and 29,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed since the fire started on Wednesday.
The specialized journalist, José Bianco, explained in TN that it is an infrequent phenomenon: “The air goes from Argentina to Chile and it descends very dry and hot. It’s usually the other way around.” Likewise, Bianco referred to the fatalities: “With the number of spotlights that can be seen from space, this number is provisional.”
For his part, reporter Cristóbal Vaccaro told from the scene that the situation is catastrophic and that there are few resources to stop the flames. “We have already received the official evacuation alert but there are seven neighbors who said ‘no one takes us from here, we have everything, we have the animals,'” Vaccaro said.
Flames threaten homes in Chillán
Chillán Viejo and Chillán, in the Ñuble region, 400 kilometers south of Santiago, report the most voracious fires. As explained by the authorities, the flames consumed an area of 181 hectares of bushes and grasslands, threatening homes in the sector.
The fires are caused by high temperatures that reached 41 degrees in the Chillán area and meteorologists say that the heat wave will last until Sunday.
The last big fires that affected Chile were registered in the summer of 2017 when the flames devastated entire towns, causing 11 deaths and more than 580,000 hectares affected.
