Devastating forest fires have claimed at least 19 lives and left approximately 1,500 people without homes in Chile, as firefighters continue to battle blazes that erupted on Sunday across the country’s central and southern regions.
Officials confirmed the fires have swept through thousands of acres.
The National Service for the Prevention of Disasters reported that five major wildfires remained active on Monday, exacerbated by a summer heatwave driving unusually high temperatures across the South American nation.
In response to the escalating crisis, Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the central Biobio and neighbouring Nuble regions on Sunday.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein wildfires.
Boric said on his X account on Monday morning that weather conditions are adverse, which means some of the fires could reignite.
Wildfires are common in Chile during the summer due to high temperatures and dry weather.
The current outbreak of fires in central and southern Chile is one of the deadliest in recent years.
In 2024, massive fires ripping across Chile’s central coastline killed at least 130 people, becoming the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since a devastating 2010 earthquake.
