Ten people are presumed dead in forest fires in Chile

SANTIAGO On Saturday, firefighters in Chile were fighting quickly spreading wildfires that, according to authorities, may have already claimed ten lives and pose a danger to hundreds of houses, leading the president to proclaim a state of emergency.
Since Friday, there have been around a dozen active fires.

The majority of the fires are in the popular tourist areas of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. Here, they have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest, shrouded coastal communities in a thick layer of gray smoke, and caused thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
The state delegate for Valparaiso’s central area, Sofia Gonzales Cortes, said, “We have preliminary information that several people have died, around 10.”
Fires have destroyed about thirty houses in the communities of Estrella and Navidad, southwest of the capital, forcing residents to evacuate close to Pichilemu, a popular surfing destination.
According to Yvonne Guzman, 63, “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she told AFP. She escaped with her elderly mother from her Quilpue home as the flames began to close in, only to spend hours stuck in traffic.
We’ve left the home, but we’re stuck there, which is very upsetting. People are attempting to flee but are immobile,” she said.
“A state of emergency due to catastrophe, in order to have all the necessary resources” to battle the flames, was declared by Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Friday.
In a tweet uploaded on social media site X, he said, “All forces are deployed in the fight against the forest fires.”
To evaluate the situation, emergency services were scheduled to convene on Saturday morning.
The Chilean national forest authority, CONAF, said that almost 7,000 hectares had burnt in Valparaiso alone, labeling the fires “extreme.”
Trapped drivers captured the mountains in flames at the end of the well-known “Route 68,” which millions of visitors use to reach the beaches along the Pacific coast. These images have gone viral on the internet.
The route that connects Valparaiso with Santiago, the capital, was blocked by officials on Friday due to “reduced visibility” caused by a massive mushroom cloud of smoke.
El Nino weather phenomena is causing a summer warmth and dryness in southern South America, which is fueling the flames. Scientists warn that extreme heat and fires are becoming more common as the earth warms.
In the next days, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil might potentially be affected by the heatwave that is threatening to engulf Chile, Colombia, and other countries.