KEY POINTS
- Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said Saturday that there were 92 active fires burning
- More than 43,000 hectares has been affected as the fires are spreading closer to urban areas, Tohá added
- The fires broke out as Chile faces a heatwave and residents have been enduring extremely hot temperatures
At least 51 people have been killed due to intense wildfires raging in central Chile.
Officials fear that the death toll will continue to rise and said at least 1,100 homes have been destroyed so far. The central regions of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso are among the worst-affected areas.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric urged residents to cooperate with rescue workers and promised that the government is actively working to make resources available.
"I know that it is a very difficult time to lose the house that was built with so many years of sacrifice," the president said Saturday evening. "Losing a family member, a loved one, is a heartbreak impossible to measure, but rest assured that our government is deployed with all the human, technical and budgetary resources."
Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said in a press conference Saturday that there were 92 active fires burning, and more than 43,000 hectares of land were affected.
Chileans have been enduring hot, dry temperatures this week as the country faces a heatwave.
It is not uncommon for wildfires to occur during this time of the year in Chile, which lost at least 23 people in February 2023 as fires swept through more than 400,000 hectares.
Tohá said the fires this year has not spread as widely but are "multiplying rapidly." The potential to affect more people is "very high" as they are spreading closer to urban areas, Tohá added.
