Chilean authorities have declared a state of emergency following the outbreak of devastating wildfires that have swept through southern regions, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and the evacuation of over 50,000 residents. The crisis, centered in the Nuble and Biobio regions approximately 500 kilometers south of Santiago, involves 14 separate blazes that have burned uncontrolled for two consecutive days.
President Gabriel Boric mobilized national resources through an emergency declaration posted on social media platform X, stating “All resources are available” to combat the disaster. The declaration enables military involvement in firefighting and evacuation operations. Security Minister Luis Cordero confirmed the casualty figures while Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde acknowledged the “complicated situation” facing emergency responders.
Nearly 4,000 firefighters are battling flames intensified by seasonal southern hemisphere summer conditions, including high temperatures and gusting winds. According to Alicia Cebrian, director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response, the most significant evacuations occurred in the Biobio coastal towns of Penco and Lirquen, with a combined population of approximately 60,000.
Eyewitness accounts describe terrifying escapes from fast-moving fires. Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student from Penco, reported: “We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death.” Rodrigo Vera, mayor of Penco, confirmed that 14 of the 15 fatalities occurred in his municipality.
Residents of Lirquen fled to beaches for safety as flames consumed their community. Alejandro Arredondo, 57, surveyed the devastation: “There is nothing left standing,” describing a landscape of melted metal and charred wood that once constituted homes.
Weather forecasts predict continued challenging conditions with high temperatures and strong winds, according to Esteban Krause, head of a forest preservation agency in Biobio. This disaster continues a pattern of destructive wildfires in south-central Chile, recalling February 2024 fires near Vina del Mar that killed 138 people and affected 16,000 residents according to official statistics.