Areas around Vina del Mar city hardest hit; emergency teams struggle to contain flames threatening urban areas
\nValparaiso
\nForest fires raging in central Chile have killed at least 51 people and the death toll is likely to keep climbing, authorities said on Saturday, as emergency services battled to snuff out flames threatening urban areas.
\nBlack smoke billowed into the sky over many parts of the Valparaiso region, home to nearly one million inhabitants in central Chile, while firefighters using helicopters and trucks struggled to quell the fires.
\nAreas around the coastal tourist city of Vina del Mar have been some of the hardest hit and rescue teams were struggling to reach all the affected areas, Chilean authorities said.
\nThe death toll rose when five bodies were found on public roads, and information indicates \u201cwe are going to reach much higher figures\u201d in coming hours, said Interior Minister Carolina Toha.
\n\u201cThe condition of Valparaiso is the most delicate,\u201d Toha said, saying the country was facing its worst disaster since a 2010 earthquake that killed about 500.
\nPresident Gabriel Boric told the nation in a televised address, \u201cThe situation is really very difficult.\u201d
\nWildfires are not uncommon in Chile over summer months. Last year, on the back of a record heat wave, some 27 people died and more than 400,000 hectares (990,000 acres) were affected.
\n\u201cThe area with fires today is much smaller than last year, (but) at this time the number of hectares affected is multiplying very rapidly,\u201d Toha said.
\nBetween Friday and Saturday the area affected by the wildfires increased to 43,000 hectares (110,000 acres) from 30,000.
\nToha said the authorities\u2019 greatest concern was that some of the active fires were developing very close to urban areas \u201cwith the very high potential to affect people, homes and facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Areas around Vina del Mar city hardest hit; emergency teams struggle to contain flames threatening urban areas Valparaiso Forest fires raging in central Chile have killed at least 51 people and the death toll is likely to keep climbing, authorities said on Saturday, as emergency services battled to snuff out flames threatening urban areas. Black […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-385309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n