Chile fights wildfires that killed 19 and forced massive evacuations

SANTIAGO, Chile — Firefighters in Chile are battling forest fires Monday that have killed at least 19 people and forced 50,000 to evacuate their homes as they swept through thousands of acres in the center and south of the country.

Fifteen wildfires were still active Monday after fires started Sunday in the South American nation, according to the National Service for the Prevention of Disasters. The agency said the wildfires have destroyed homes, vehicles, infrastructure and forests.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the central Biobio and neighboring Ñuble regions on Sunday. The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein wildfires.

The president said that the wildfires have blazed through at least 30,000 hectares, an area that is roughly five times the size of Manhattan Island.

“Controlling fires of this magnitude, with unfavorable weather conditions like high temperature, wind, and a lack of humidity is a tremendously difficult job,” Boric said in a press conference Monday.

The president thanked nations that have sent firefighters and supplies to Chile, including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

Chilean officials said that 325 homes have been destroyed by the wildfires, while another 1,140 homes have been damaged.

Police are investigating the causes of the current spate of wildfires. Boric on Monday said that in “99% of cases” wildfires in Chile are the result of human behavior.

Wildfires are common in Chile during the summer due to high temperatures and dry weather. The current outbreak of fires in central and southern Chile is one of the deadliest in recent years.

In 2024, massive fires ripping across Chile’s central coastline killed at least 130 people, becoming the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since a devastating 2010 earthquake.