PENCO, Chile (AP) \u2014 Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 18 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave. <\/p>\n
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country\u2019s central Biobio region and the neighboring \u00d1uble region, around 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital. <\/p>\n
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in over two dozen active wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres), according to the national forestry agency. <\/p>\n
In a press conference from the hard-hit city of Concepci\u00f3n in the Biobio region, Boric expressed his support and condolences to the victims and warned that the government\u2019s initial reports of 18 people killed and 300 houses destroyed were expected to rise as the extent of the losses came into focus.<\/p>\n
He estimated the total number of affected homes in the Biobio region alone to be \u201ccertainly more than a thousand, just so far.\u201d Already the fires ravaging the hillsides forced 50,000 people to evacuate. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n
His address followed complaints from local authorities that for hours, destruction was everywhere and help was nowhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cDear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,\u201d Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region, said on a local radio station earlier Sunday. \u201cHow can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?\u201d <\/p>\n
Firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames, with the heat and strong winds hampering their efforts. Temperatures topped 38 C (100 F) on Sunday, and the scorching weather was expected to persist through Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWeather conditions for coming hours are not good and indicate extreme temperatures,\u201d said Interior Minister \u00c1lvaro Elizalde.<\/p>\n
Residents said the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes. <\/p>\n
\u201cMany people didn\u2019t evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,\u201d said John Guzm\u00e1n, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. \u201cIt was completely out of control. No one expected it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fire engulfed most of Penco, burning cars, a school and a church. Thousands of people scrambled to take refuge in makeshift emergency shelters. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe fled running, with the kids, in the dark,\u201d said Juan Lagos, 52.<\/p>\n
The government imposed a nighttime curfew in the area.Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what we can see, there are people who died … and we knew them well,\u201d said V\u00edctor Burboa, 54. \u201cEveryone here knew them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wildfires afflict central and southern Chile every summer, typically reaching a peak in February as temperatures surge and the country continues to reel from a yearslong drought. In 2024, massive fires ripping<\/a> across Chile\u2019s central coastline killed at least 130 people<\/a>, becoming the nation\u2019s deadliest natural disaster since a devastating 2010 earthquake.<\/p>\n