According to Agence France-Presse, the fire department of Viña del Mar in the Valparaiso region of Chile said on the 7th that a large area of forest fires that had been raging in the area for many days had been extinguished. The fire has killed 131 people and hundreds more are missing. Fires are still currently being held in parts of southern Chile. The cause of this fire is still under investigation, and officials say that arson cannot be ruled out.
The fire department of Viña del Mar, Valparaiso Region, the hardest-hit area of this forest fire, told the public on the 7th that the current round of forest fire emergency began on February 2 and has been resolved. According to Agence France-Presse, about 2,000 firefighters were put into extinguishing the fire.
The forest fires in Viña del Mar were initially only burned in more remote areas. Despite the best efforts of firefighters to stop the spread of the fire, adverse weather conditions such as high temperatures, low humidity and high winds were unable to prevent the fire from spreading to densely populated areas.
Drone footage shows that entire residential areas have been burned.
Some residents still have lingering fears when they recall the scene in the fire.
Danitsa Hurtado, victim of Viña del Mar: The fire started from this side of the house, and I couldn't see anything, only black smoke. And the wind was blowing on us, and the trees were falling on top of the house, which was terrible. In less than 10 minutes, we ran away from the house, as far as we could.
This large-scale forest fire is the first time in Chile since August 2010The worst disaster since the magnitude 8**. Because many of the bodies are already unrecognizable, it may take a long time for forensic doctors to identify the victims through DNA sample comparison, so there may be overlap in the number of dead and missing people counted so far.
Andrea Jaramillo, victim of the Viña del Mar disaster: I escaped, I don't care about losing material things. I cry for the dead, I've lived here for more than 20 years, and we cry because we never thought it would happen, but we're going to go on living. We need all kinds of help, and we can use everything.
At present, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. A number of Chilean ** have mentioned that there are several fire points at the same time in this round of fires, and the possibility of arson cannot be ruled out.
However, some experts say that the climate caused such heavy damage by the forest fires in Chile is also an important aspect. Chile is located in South America, and it is summer and the central part of the country where forest fires are occurring is experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. In the past two months, the El Niño phenomenon has caused high temperatures and droughts in the western part of South America, and the risk of forest fires has increased significantly, which is the main reason why Chile has a rapid forest fire momentum and is difficult to fight.
Nashuel Arenas, Head of the Americas and the Caribbean, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: El Niño and rising sea temperatures are contributing to climate change. For example, some areas will receive more rainfall, while others will become less watery. This exacerbates the rise in global temperatures caused by climate change, which is now very high. This creates a context and conditions that make the fire more likely to expand and more intense.
Forest fires in Chile affect tourism in the affected areas.
One of the hardest-hit cities in Chile for forest fires, Viña del Mar in the Valparaiso region is a well-known coastal resort. Recently, due to the impact of forest fires, the local tourism industry has been affected. Let's take a look at the report sent back by the reporter from the main station.
Lei Xiangping: I am currently in Viña del Mar, Chile, which is one of the hardest-hit cities in Chile and is also a well-known coastal tourist city. It's the peak tourist season in the area, and it should be crowded with tourists, but due to air pollution caused by forest fires and strict curfews are being enforced in the local area. As a result, tourists are now relatively scarce.
Guillermo, local restaurateur: Some of our peers, due to the state of emergency caused by the fire, sales have dropped by seven or eighty percent. We hope that business will pick up in the next week or two.
Maria, Head of the Viña del Mar Small Hotel Guild: February used to be our best month every year, but now because of the fire we don't have tourists, the hotel is idle, and the local hotel industry is going through a big crisis.