Wildfires have swept through Chile’s Bio Bio and Ñuble regions, killing at least 16 people and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate.
At least 16 people have died after forest fires tore through Chile’s southern regions of Bio Bio and Ñuble over the weekend, authorities said. Public Security Minister Luis Cordero confirmed that 15 deaths occurred in Bio Bio, with victims being identified at designated locations as prosecutors worked to secure affected sites.
Extensive damage is seen across the regions, with homes, buildings, and forests destroyed. Residents surveyed the devastation as authorities continue to assess the full scale of the disaster.
Cordero said evacuation alerts sent via Chile’s SAE system were crucial in protecting those at risk, with more than 87 messages dispatched. The death toll may rise as specialized teams from Carabineros, investigative police, and firefighters complete assessments in fire-hit areas once it is safe.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in Bio Bio and Ñuble on Sunday, mobilizing all available resources. The wildfires have forced at least 20,000 people to evacuate and destroyed more than 250 homes.
According to the national forestry agency CONAF, firefighters were battling 24 active fires across the country as of Sunday, with the largest in Bio Bio and Ñuble, around 500 km south of Santiago. Fires have burned nearly 8,500 hectares so far.
Authorities said extreme conditions, including strong winds and high temperatures, have accelerated the fires’ spread and complicated firefighting efforts. Much of Chile is under extreme heat alerts, with temperatures expected to reach 38°C from Santiago to Bio Bio over Sunday and Monday.
Both Chile and neighboring Argentina have faced record heat waves this year, with destructive wildfires hitting Argentina’s Patagonia earlier in January.
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