2024 Chile Wildfires

What? Dickfart doing another post so soon? Yeah what you gonna do 'bout it.

In January 2024, two forest fires prompted the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response to issue a red alert. One occurred on 20 January in Lonquimay, Araucanía Region, and another on 26 January in Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region.

On 22 January, a fire, named "Antiquereo 2", broke out on the boundary of Portezuelo and Trehuaco in the Ñuble Region. It was contained by 24 January after consuming 35 hectares (86 acres). SENAPRED responded by declaring a yellow alert in Portezuelo, marking the first alert of the year in the region.

By the end of January 2024, a fire originating in Florida, Biobío Region, spread to Quillón in the Ñuble Region. The "Casablanca" fire, covering 69.5 hectares (172 acres) in the Peñablanca sector, was extinguished through collaborative efforts between the Quillón and Florida fire departments.

In the last week of January 2024, a heatwave hit central Chile, with temperatures 10 to 15 °C (18 to 27 °F) above the weekly average. Anticipating an increased wildfire risk, the Meteorological Directorate of Chile issued a heat alert on 28 January, projecting temperatures of 36 to 38 °C (97 to 100 °F) in valleys and foothills of the central zone and 30 °C (86 °F) on the coast of Valparaíso, O'Higgins, and Maule regions.

A total of 131 people were killed in the fires, of whom 35 have been identified so far. The Chilean Forensic Medical Service said many bodies were found to be in bad condition and difficult to identify, prompting them to take DNA samples from people with missing relatives. At least 45 of the dead were found at the scene, while six others died of burn injuries in medical facilities. At least 14,000 houses were affected by the fires in Viña del Mar and Quilpué. Over 370 people were reported missing in the Viña del Mar area alone, while 1,600 others were displaced by the fires. The fires were regarded as the deadliest in Chile's history, and the deadliest disaster in the country since the 2010 Chile earthquake.

In Valparaíso, four hospitals and three nursing homes were evacuated, and two bus terminals were destroyed. In Viña del Mar, the city's botanical garden, which was founded in 1931, was destroyed by the fires, killing an employee and three of her relatives.

President Gabriel Boric said the death toll was likely to rise.