LIRQUEN
\nPolice in south-central Chile have arrested a man on suspicion of starting one of the recent wildfires that killed 21 people and razed entire neighborhoods, the government said Wednesday.
\nSecurity Minister Luis Cordero said the suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five liters (more than a gallon) of fuel from him. He was arrested at dawn in the town of Perquenco in Araucania region, south of Biobio.
\nThe fires began simultaneously on Saturday in various parts of Biobio and Nuble regions, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
\nFanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the flames quickly ripped through the coastal towns of Penco, Lirquen and Punta de Parra, leaving a blackened landscape of smoldering ruins.
\nInterior Minister Alvaro Elizalde told a press conference on Wednesday that an estimated 20,000 people suffered property damage from the fires, including some 800 homes that were destroyed.
\nPresident Gabriel Boric visited Biobio on Wednesday, where he said: \u201cWe\u2019re working with heavy machinery to clear streets and remove debris, and we continue fighting the fire. \u201cWe\u2019re still in a state of emergency,\u201d he added.
\nOther fires were later reported further inland, in the Biobio town of Florida, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the city of Concepcion and in Araucania.
\nCordero said substances used to start fires, including plastic containers containing accelerant, were found in Concepcion.
\nFirefighters were still battling 35 blazes Wednesday \u2014 22 in Biobio, five in Nuble and eight in Araucania, according to national forestry officials.
\nA drop in temperature in recent days has helped ease the situation.
\n\u201cWe managed to reduce the intensity of the fire,\u201d Carlos Zulieta, a firefighter in Florida said, adding that it was now advancing \u201cmore slowly.\u201d
\nThe government said it would pay compensation of $700 to $1,500 to victims. Aid began trickling into affected areas on Wednesday.
\nMunicipal workers and private companies were delivering portable toilets and generators to Lirquen, where some families are camped out in the ruins of their homes.
\nIn February 2024, wildfires broke out around the coastal resort of Vina del Mar, 110 kilometers from Santiago, leaving 138 dead.
\nInvestigations revealed that firefighters and forestry brigade members started the fire, which spread rapidly due in part to high temperatures during the southern hemisphere\u2019s summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LIRQUEN Police in south-central Chile have arrested a man on suspicion of starting one of the recent wildfires that killed 21 people and razed entire neighborhoods, the government said Wednesday. Security Minister Luis Cordero said the suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five liters (more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n