Chile declares state of emergency after wildfires kill at least 18

People reports Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency on Sunday, Jan. 18, after wildfires left at least 18 people dead in the Ñuble and Bio Bio regions.

More than 50,000 people have been evacuated in Ñuble and Bio Bio, and fires have burned roughly 21,000 acres so far, the BBC said. The Associated Press reported about 300 houses destroyed, Reuters said Chile’s forestry agency Conaf was battling 24 active blazes, and officials shared video of overnight firefighting efforts. The largest fires are in areas about 310 miles south of Santiago; temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday and strong winds have hampered suppression efforts, the AP said.

Boric spoke from Concepción, offering condolences and warning that the death toll and number of destroyed homes were expected to rise, and he estimated “certainly more than a thousand, just so far” homes affected in the Biobío region, per the AP. With the state of emergency in place, the armed forces can be deployed to assist, and Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde warned that weather forecasts indicate extreme temperatures in the coming hours, the AP reported.

Key Topics

World, Chile, Gabriel Boric, Ñuble, Bio Bio, Conaf