At least 19 people died in the fires which today burned 430,000 hectares in Chile, mainly in the tourist area of ​​Valparaiso, on the Pacific coast plagued by very high temperatures.

“It’s an unprecedented disaster, the Valparaiso region has never seen a situation of this magnitude,” said Macarena Ripamondi, the mayor of the worst-hit, famous seaside resort of Viña del Mar.

A total of 92 fires were active this afternoon, of which 40 were under control. mainly in the region of Valparaiso, in western Chile, but also in the central and southern parts of the country, announced Interior Minister Carolina Toha.

Nearly 430,000 acres were reduced to ash, he added.

Photos that went viral on social media, taken by stranded motorists, show the mountains ablaze near the famous “Highway 68”, a thoroughfare traveled by thousands of tourists to reach Pacific beaches.

At least 19 people died in a single sector of Viña del Mar, Toja said, clarifying that it was a “very provisional” toll as rescue services could not yet access other sectors also affected by the fire.

In the hills of the seaside resort, where the roads are lined with hundreds of charred cars, thousands of people returned to their damaged homes today.

69-year-old pensioner Luis Vial weeps in front of the ruins of his home in the Villa Independencia sector where the 19 victims were found: “Within a minute, we lost everything.”

A curfew was declared this morning in several municipalities in the region to allow evacuees and emergency teams to move.

Firefighters have been fighting since Friday against dozens of fires in the Valparaiso and O’Higgins areas in the center, but also in Maule, Biobio, La Araucania and Los Lagos, in the south.

“Priority is the fires in the Valparaiso region, due to its proximity to urban areas, said the Secretary of the Interior.

These are areas located 80 to 120 km northwest of Santiago, rich in viticultural, agricultural and forestry enterprises.

Chile

Due to their proximity to the Pacific beaches, they see a large influx of tourists during this time of the Australian summer.

The president of Chile, Gabriel Borich, declared a state of emergency in order to “make available all the necessary means” against the progress of the fires.

“All forces have been deployed to extinguish the forest fires,” assured the head of state in a message posted on Platform X. Fourteen ships and five helicopters are involved in extinguishing them.