The heat adds to the challenge of extinguishing fires.
In Chile, wildfires have claimed the lives of at least 64 individuals. These fires have been rampant in the southern and central parts of the country, as stated by the country’s president, Gabriel Boric, on Sunday.
Authorities have reported the difficulty in putting out the fires in the Valparaíso tourist area due to the high temperatures of almost 40 degrees and the extremely dry conditions of the terrain.
During his speech in Quilpué, near the heavily affected city of Viña del Mar, President Boric remarked, “The victim count is expected to increase, and significantly so.” He also mentioned that this disaster is the worst the country has experienced since the 2010 earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in approximately 500 fatalities.
Chilean emergency authorities reported that more than 30 fires continued to blaze unchecked as of Sunday.
A night curfew and a state of emergency have been declared in the affected areas.
Domestic worker Rosana Avendano63 expressed her devastation, saying, “It was horrific. I couldn’t reach our house because the fire was too close. We lost everything.”
Chile’s neighboring country, Argentina, is also battling wildfires. Fires that have been burning for over a week have already ravaged more than 3,000 hectares of the Los Alerces National Park in the northern part of the country.
The city of Viña del Mar experienced significant damage due to the wildfires. Firefighters spent Sunday attempting to douse hot spots in the city.
Aerial photograph of Viña del Mar taken on Saturday. The fires have resulted in the destruction of over a thousand homes.
