“President Trump has authorized me to support Chile with a donation of assistance to face the wildfires,” he wrote on his X account.
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Since Saturday, several fires are burning in the two southern regions of the country, which remain active and whose extinction is expected to be complex due to the climatic conditions of the next few hours. One of the most affected areas is the commune of Penco, in the Biobío region, about 500 kilometers south of the capital.
The prosecutors’ offices of both regions announced this Sunday the beginning of investigations to determine the origin of the fires: “Last night (Saturday) we found out about the magnitude of this catastrophe, ordering investigation proceedings immediately,” indicated the regional prosecutor of Biobío, Marcela Cartagena. The president, Gabriel Boric, declared a State of Catastrophe in the affected areas this Sunday and traveled to the city of Concepción, capital of Biobío, to meet with local authorities and assess the situation.Due to its abrupt topography, its extensive forests, and its climate, Chile has always had fires, but their frequency and intensity increased from 2010 onwards. Climate change, the megadrought that has lasted for more than a decade, and the expansion of the so-called ‘urban-rural interface’ (areas where combustible vegetation and buildings mix) have contributed to this, according to experts.
The latest report from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) in Biobío, which was delivered at 2:00 PM (local time), indicated that so far, up to 18,000 hectares have been burned in the area. The biggest fire-related tragedy in Chile occurred in February 2024 in the Valparaíso region, when the flames caused the death of 136 people.
