Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency on Sunday in two southern regions as raging wildfires forced around 20,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Firefighters are currently battling 19 active blazes across the country, 12 of which are concentrated in the Nuble and Biobio regions, south of the capital, Santiago.
“In the face of the ongoing serious fires, I have decided to declare a state of natural disaster for the Nuble and Biobio regions,” Boric said in a post on X, adding that “all resources are available” to combat the fires.
The government has not confirmed any casualties or the extent of property damage.
Alicia Cebrian, director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response, told local media that most of the evacuations occurred in the Biobio cities of Penco and Lirquen, which together have a population of about 60,000.
Local television broadcasts showed flames engulfing parts of the cities, with streets littered with charred cars.
Wildfires have increasingly affected south-central Chile in recent years. In February 2024, several simultaneous fires near the coastal city of Vina del Mar, northwest of Santiago, killed 138 people, according to the public prosecutor’s office, and affected about 16,000 residents.
