Santiago: A scorching summer heat wave complicates efforts to control fires that have so far claimed at least 23 lives, prompting the government to extend an emergency order to another region on Saturday due to the dozens of wildfires raging throughout Chile.
An official briefing later on Saturday revealed that more than 1,100 people had sought refuge in shelters and that the raging fires had injured at least 979 people.
The most recent emergency declaration is for the southern region of Araucania, which is adjacent to the previously declared Biobio and Nuble regions and is situated close to the country's lengthy Pacific coastline.
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The emergency is getting worse and it is very difficult to put out the fires that are spreading because of the weather, Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters at a news conference in Santiago.
Noting that 76 additional fires had started on Friday, she continued, "We need to reverse that curve.
As local summertime temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, authorities reported that another 16 fires erupted (40 Celsius).
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Numerous farms, including those that grow grapes, apples, and berries for export as well as sizable swaths of forest land are located in the sparsely populated three regions covered by the emergency orders.
The governments of Spain, the United States, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela have all offered assistance, including planes and firefighters, according to officials who spoke to reporters on Saturday.
According to authorities, an emergency support helicopter crashed on Friday in La Araucania, killing both its pilot and mechanic. Authorities reported that the town of Santa Juana in Biobio, which is about 310 miles (500 km) south of Santiago, was the scene of 11 deaths, or nearly half of the casualties reported so far.
Helicopters have been dropping fire retardant over blazing fires since late last week as towering smoke clouds block roads. In the midst of an orange-tinted haze, firefighters and local residents are battling to put out the flames.
To deal with the natural disaster, the orders permit the deployment of soldiers and more resources.
According to official data released late on Friday, the fires have burned an area larger than the US city of Philadelphia—40,000 hectares (99,000 acres).
According to the national forestry agency CONAF, 151 of the 231 total wildfires are now under control, while 80 are still being actively fought. According to officials, more than 90% of the wildfires were put out before they grew larger than 12 acres (5 hectares).
However, the only course of action for those unfortunate enough to become trapped in one of the unchecked wildfires was an immediate evacuation.
Carolina Torres, who escaped an approaching fire near the city of Puren in the Araucania region, said, "I left with what I had on. The winds changed, and you had to grab everything immediately, so I believe everyone did the same thing.
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President Gabriel Boric promised to ensure that the affected areas receive all necessary support when he visited Nuble and Biobio on Friday, cutting short his summer vacation. Boric also mentioned "signs" that some fires may have been started on purpose, but he made no further mention of them.