Deadly wildfire has continued to burn in Chile as President Gabriel Boric has called for unity and resolve in response to the destruction of more than 1,000 homes and hundreds of thousands of hectares of land across south-central regions of the country.
Authorities said yesterday that conditions conducive to the spread of the fires, which have consumed two hundred and seventy hectares and left at least 24 people dead so far, would persist this week.
The blazes are the deadliest in the South American nation in recent years and have already made 2023 the second-worst year on record in terms of hectares burned.
Chile’s National Forestry Corporation reported that as at yesterday morning, two hundred and seventy five fires remained active.
The Chilean authorities said on Sunday that at least one thousand, one hundred and eighty two people were injured in the wildfires, which have been fanned by strong winds and temperatures that reached above forty degrees Celsius. Nearly one thousand, one hundred homes also were destroyed.
International aid and personnel began arriving on Sunday from Spain, Argentina and Mexico, while more assistance was expected from several countries in the region, including Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela and Peru.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said late on Sunday that one hundred and eighty specialists trained in controlling wildfires had left for Chile to help the nation’s civil protection agency get the blazes under control.
