Fires have consumed some 270,000 hectares, officials say
\n SANTIAGO
\nFirefighters battled dozens of raging wildfires in Chile on Sunday, seeking to gain control of one of the country\u2019s worst natural disasters in years as the death toll rose to at least 24 with nearly 1,000 more injured.
\nInternational help began arriving on Sunday from a handful of countries that have pledged resources, including planes and expert firefighting teams, as the most intense wildfires torched forests and farmland clustered around three regions near the middle of the South American country\u2019s long Pacific coastline.
\nPresident Gabriel Boric issued emergency declarations for the largely rural southern regions of Biobio, Nuble and Araucania in an effort to speed relief.
\nPresident Gabriel Boric issued emergency declarations for the largely rural southern regions of Biobio, Nuble and Araucania in an effort to speed relief.
\nOn Sunday, speaking from the city of Puren in Araucania, Boric stressed that his government would provide all necessary resources, while he also sought to inspire solidarity in the face of the deadly wildfires.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen the resiliency of our people, and it\u2019s exactly that spirit that has to guide us during this difficult time,\u201d he said. \u201cAll together, we\u2019ll come out of this ahead.\u201d
\nThe fires have consumed some 270,000 hectares, officials said on Sunday, or an area roughly the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
\nA searing heat wave in the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s summer has complicated efforts to extinguish the flames, as temperatures in some of the most affected areas have exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius).
\nPockets of intense fire could be seen leaping out from the forested hills off the coast near the town of Dichato just outside the city of Concepcion in the Biobio region on Saturday night, as light from the flames illuminated boats in the small harbor. Thirteen of the dead — more than half of the fires\u2019 reported victims — come from Biobio, which, like Nuble and Araucania, is home to extensive forests as well as farms that grow grapes and other fruit for export. In some places, the fires prompted a mad dash for safety for those lucky enough to have options ahead of the approaching flames.
\n\u201cGet into the swimming pool! Get into the swimming pool, up to your neck,\u201d a woman recounted shouting to her parents at the family\u2019s home near the town of Santa Juana, in hard-hit Biobio, but declining to give her name.
\nShe described a hurried effort to find a safe place to hunker down that included leaving behind vehicles, as well as imploring neighbors to join them in the pool.
\nSome 260 fires are active across the parched region, interior ministry officials said on Sunday, with 28 of them considered especially dangerous.
\nNearly 1,500 people have fled to area shelters. At least 26 of the 970 injured are listed in grave condition at local hospitals.
\nChilean officials have sought international assistance to battle the fires, with new ones sparking to life each day.
\nAuthorities said they were facilitating the arrival of assistance from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela. Some foreign help was already on the ground.
\nA Spanish military unit was to make it, officials said on Sunday, adding that a so-called Ten Tanker plane featuring a 36,000-liter firefighting capacity should arrive on Monday.
\nMeanwhile, a specialized team of personnel and trucks from Argentina also arrived on Sunday, as did two military planes and around 300 volunteers from Mexico, according to Chile\u2019s foreign ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fires have consumed some 270,000 hectares, officials say SANTIAGO Firefighters battled dozens of raging wildfires in Chile on Sunday, seeking to gain control of one of the country\u2019s worst natural disasters in years as the death toll rose to at least 24 with nearly 1,000 more injured. International help began arriving on Sunday from a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-312201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n