Chilean authorities confirmed that the death toll rose to 122 after deadly fires in the Valparaíso region, of which only 32 have been identified by the Legal Medical Service (SML).
The Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, who headed the meeting of the Disaster Risk Management Committee (Cogrid), detailed on Sunday that the official projection, which has yet to be verified on the ground, indicates that up to 12,122 homes would be affected. in Viña del Mar and 2,700 in Quilpué, another of the epicenters of the fire.
For his part, Chilean President Gabriel Boric described the situation as “the greatest tragedy we have experienced as a country since the earthquake of February 27, 2010” and decreed two days of national mourning starting this Monday.
The president, who visited the affected area and met with local mayors, confirmed that it is expected that weather conditions can improve to facilitate fire extinguishing efforts.
“The main change is that we are going to stop having extreme conditions, high temperatures will remain, but not extreme, and we will have cloudiness in the mornings, which is more favorable for fire control,” stated Boric.
According to forecasts, the largest outbreak, that of the Lago Peñuelas/Las Tablas Reserve, next to the main highway in the area, which has already burned about 8,500 hectares, and that of Lo Moscoso, in Quilpué, With 1,550 hectares burned, they could be controlled during the next few days.
The Government decided to advance the curfew from 6:00 pm, local time, in the sectors that have not yet been evacuated from the towns of Quilpué, Villa Alemana, Limache and Viña del Mar, a measure that seeks to facilitate the work of rescue and clear evacuation routes.
The Chilean government also ordered the sending of more resources and personnel to fight the fires, totaling more than 3,000 firefighters, brigade members, soldiers and volunteers, supported by 40 aircraft.
The authorities consider that several fires could have been intentional and announced an exhaustive investigation to find those responsible.
“It is difficult to think that there could be such miserable and heartless people capable of generating so much death and pain, but if these people exist we are going to look for them, we are going to find them and they will have to face the rejection not only of the entire society, but also of the full weight of the right and the law,” he said.
The forest fires that are ravaging the Valparaíso region are part of a wave of fires that affects almost the entire center and south of the country, where 165 fires have been recorded, of which 40 are still in combat, 112 are controlled and four are extinguished. according to the balance provided by Monsalve.
With information from EFE