The fires continue, amid the impossibility of accessing the areas affected by the flames and nearly 43,000 hectares have been consumed, according to the Government. The death toll increased to 51 and the missing, in the Viña del Mar region, amounted to 372, in official reports.
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After the fires that started last Friday, February 2, near Valparaíso, 100 kilometers east of Santiago, the country's capital, the number of fatalities increased to 51, according to the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (SENAPRED).
Added to these fires are the high temperatures recorded, which in Santiago reached 37.3 degrees Celsius, the third highest in the history of the capital, according to the Chilean Meteorological Directorate.
The president, Gabriel Boric, reported on the morning of this Sunday, February 4, through his account on X (formerly Twitter), that he was heading to the area with the purpose of supporting the tasks, recovering bodies of deceased people, support public order with more Carabineros and investigate the origin of the fires.
We are already on our way to the Valparaíso region to be with local authorities, victims of the tragedy and above all to see in situ where we must tighten the screws to provide more and better support in this difficult time. I have instructed that the Government must be on the ground and…
— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) February 4, 2024
On the other hand, in response to the emergency, the Chilean president decreed “a state of emergency due to catastrophe to have all the necessary resources” to combat the fires. Likewise, a curfew this Saturday night (local time) to speed up the arrival of emergency services.
The mayor of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti, stated:
“We are facing an unprecedented catastrophe, a situation of this magnitude had not happened in the Valparaíso region”
From the La Moneda palace in Santiago, President Boric warned that the number of victims will “increase” given the “dimension” that “the tragedy” is taking, which also leaves 43,000 hectares burned – a figure confirmed by the Minister of Interior, Carolina Tohá – , which is almost half the area of Santiago.
According to an update from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), the largest fire is located in the Lago Peñuelas Reserve, next to the main highway to the area, which has burned more than 8,000 hectares.
The increasingly strong winds are dragging the flames towards transportation, paint and furniture factories. This has generated black smoke in several towns near Valparaíso.
The origin of these fires has not been determined. However, according to the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), the 99.7% of conflagrations “are started either by carelessness or negligence in the manipulation of heat sources, or by agricultural practices or by intentionality, originating from motivations of different types, including criminal ones.”
The weather is also another decisive factor in conflagrations. According to a press release published by the Catholic University of Chile, the 'rule of 30' influences conflagrations. That is, a temperature equal to or greater than 30 degrees Celsius, winds with speeds greater than 30 kilometers per hour and a relative air humidity of less than 30% can generate a conflagration or maintain it.
The conditions for spreading fires, according to the Official Meteorological Service of Chile They will remain until February 5, which is why the red alert was declared for the metropolitan region and Valparaíso.
International solidarity with Chile
This Sunday, during the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis recalled the situation in the central region of Valparaíso and asked the faithful to pray for the injured and deceased.
In the region, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, expressed his solidarity with Chile and the families of those who died:
From the Plurinational State of Bolivia we express our solidarity with the brother people and Government of #Chiligiven the irreparable loss of life caused by the fires and which led to the president @GabrielBoric to declare a state of emergency due to catastrophe.…
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) February 4, 2024
The Government of Brazil expressed this Saturday its “deepest regret” for the “significant number of deaths.” The Foreign Ministry of that country showed its “solidarity with the families of the victims, as well as with the people and the Government of Chile.”
From Colombia, a country that also experienced multiple forest fires less than a week ago, the Foreign Ministry also expressed solidarity and made itself available to the Chilean authorities to collaborate with the mitigation of the fires.
With EFE, AFP and local media.
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