CONCEPCIÓN, CHILE (AFP) – International experts on Monday joined Chile’s frantic fight against devastating, drought-fuelled forest fires that have killed 26 people, injured hundreds and destroyed more than 1,100 homes in less than a week. Officials said the blazes in south-central Chile, some 280 of which were still burning on Monday, have consumed about 667,000 acres of land, an area larger than the country of Luxembourg.
As the alarm was raised over a new surge in temperatures starting yesterday after a brief reprieve, a DC-10 air tanker from the United States arrived in the country to join the battle by some 5,600 firefighters against 69 of the highest priority fires.
The craft is capable of dropping 36,000 litres of water.Chile’s SENAPRED emergency response service said the fires have left 1,260 people injured and another 3,000 without homes.
At least one firefighter was among the 26 dead, and eight among the injured.
Aid volunteer Carmen Cuevas told AFP of seeing parts of her hometown of Santa Juana in the hard-hit Biobio region, some 500-kilometre south of the capital Santiago, “turned to ash”, as she helped on Monday to distribute water to affected people.
Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters that in five days of fires, an area was destroyed equivalent to “what is usually burned in two years of fires”. Over the weekend, the minister said Chile was becoming one of the countries most vulnerable to fires due to climate change.
