The fires which still rage mainly in the coastal, touristic province of Valparaiso, in the central Chilehave claimed the lives of at least 112 people and that toll is in danger of becoming even heavier today, as firefighters continue the tough battle to bring some forty active outbreaks under control.

Entire neighborhoods destroyed, cars charred, nearly 260,000 acres of rubble… Approx. 1,400 firefighters, together with 1,300 soldiers and volunteers, continue today, for the fourth consecutive day, the fight to limit the dozens of fires in the central and southern part of the country, according to the national disaster prevention and response service (SENAPRED).

“We have to say that, based on the information we received from the coroner’s office, there are 112 dead (and) 32 bodies have been identified,” said Manuel Monsalve, spokesman for the Latin American country’s interior ministry, during a press conference. He added that firefighters are continuing efforts to bring some forty fronts under control.

A previous report by the forensic service (SML) spoke of 99 dead.

The number of victims “will increase, we know it will increase a lot”, President Gabriel Boric warned earlier yesterday Sunday, during his visit to Quilpué, near Viña del Mar, in the province of Valparaiso, where all the deaths so far have been recorded.

The mayor of the spa town of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti, and the head of the provincial authorities in Valparaiso, Rodrigo Mundaca, stressed that hundreds of people were still missing.

In Quilpue, an AFP team saw entire neighborhoods and hundreds of cars turned into rubble. Thousands of residents were stranded for hours on Friday there as they tried to leave by road.

She “it’s the biggest tragedy we’ve experienced since the 2010 earthquake”Mr. Boric said, referring to the 8.8-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that followed on February 27, 2010, when more than 500 people died.

Lilian Rojas, 67, lives near the botanical garden of Viña del Mar, one of the worst-hit areas.

“There’s not a single house left here anymore,” he said amid debris and ash.

He said that the fire occupied the residents of Hexapin. “I went out to see and people were already running. I left my house, closed the door and left,” the pensioner continued, adding that the clothes she is wearing “are the only thing I have left.”

Rodrigo Pulgar, a driver, lost his home in El Olivar, in the hills of Valparaiso. “It was hell, the explosions (…) I was trying to help my neighbor put out the fire in his car, behind my house was starting to burn. It was raining ashes,” he said.

To restrict traffic in the affected areas and “facilitate rescue and recovery operations”, a new nighttime curfew has been imposed in four communities in Valparaiso from 18:00 to 10:00 (local time; from yesterday 23 :00 to today at 15:00).

More favorable weather conditions

Weather conditions in recent hours appear to be more favorable, Interior Minister Carolina Toa said, describing a phenomenon common in areas washed by the Pacific Ocean, with lots of clouds, high humidity and falling temperatures.

These conditions will make it easier for authorities to deal with the fires, he added.

The fire of Las Tablas, the largest in Valparaiso province, remains active and has an “80-kilometer perimeter,” Ms. Toa said. In this province, which is highly valued for its beaches and the wines it produces, members of 17 fire departments, 1,300 military personnel and volunteers are involved in efforts to control the flames and provide assistance to fire victims.

International reactions

At RomePope Francis yesterday called on the faithful to “pray for the dead and injured in the devastating fires in Chile.”

EU foreign policy chief Giuseppe Borrell assured via X (the former Twitter) that the EU is “ready to offer its help in these difficult times”, attributing the disaster to “drought” and “climate” deregulation.

The French Foreign Ministry, for its part, expressed “its full solidarity with the government and people of Chile” and assured that Paris is “ready to offer assistance”, also through X.

From Wednesday, temperature it ranges around 40° Celsius in central Chile and in the capital Santiago.

The heatwave is characterized as a consequence of the El Niño climate phenomenon, which is currently affecting the southern cone of Latin America, in the middle of the southern hemisphere’s summer season, causing forest fires exacerbated by climate change. After Chile and Colombia, heat waves are expected to hit Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the coming days.