Chile will open 9,480 temporary jobs between October and December 2026 to build firebreaks and clear flammable vegetation before summer, a wildfire-prevention labor push stretching from the Atacama Desert to the lakes of Los Lagos.
The Employment Program for the Prevention and Mitigation of Forest Fires, presented by the Ministry of Agriculture and the national forestry corporation CONAF, pairs an urgent safety mission with an equally urgent economic one: putting thousands of Chileans to work during the country's traditionally slow final quarter.
A prevention plan with an economic backbone
- Budget: more than 9.2 billion pesos (roughly US$9.7 million)
- Coverage: every region from Atacama to Los Lagos
- Fieldwork: about 7,000 kilometers of firebreaks, plus clearing and vegetation management
Of the total, 6,958 monthly positions are brand-new, layered on top of the 2,522 already funded through CONAF's regular program. Averaged across the quarter, the state is committing close to 1 million pesos per worker— money that flows straight into rural households and local economies where stable formal employment is scarce.
Why the south carries the heaviest load
The hiring map mirrors Chile's fire geography. La Araucanía leads with 2,190 positions, followed by Biobío (1,500) and Ñuble (1,000) — three southern regions repeatedly scarred by destructive blazes. Concentrating labor there is both protective and redistributive, steering income toward the communities that shoulder the greatest physical and financial risk when fires ignite.
Agriculture Minister Jaime Campos warned that technical forecasts point to a demanding summer, explaining that heavy rains fuel grass growth that later dries into fuel. Dried vegetation, he cautioned, becomes "a very fast transmitter of fire."
The socioeconomic math behind prevention
The stakes reach well beyond seasonal paychecks. Chile's recent fire seasons — including the catastrophic 2024 blazes in the Valparaíso region that claimed more than 130 lives — showed how fast wildfires convert into human tragedy and billion-peso losses across housing, agriculture, and infrastructure. Every firebreak cleared now is a wager that upfront spending will spare far larger reconstruction bills later.
For workers, the program offers something increasingly rare: dignified, skills-based temporary employment tied to a visible public good. Crews will concentrate on the urban-rural interface — the zones where neighborhoods meet forest and where a single spark threatens homes, schools, and essential services.
What comes next
CONAF's regional directorates have already distributed quotas and opened public calls, with recruitment channeled through local offices in each region. The agency has signaled that enrollment will continue through regional media outreach, inviting interested residents to register.
Officials cast the effort as a foundation rather than a finish line, tying it to a longer commitment to community resilience and coordinated response ahead of Chile's highest-risk months. By converting prevention into paid work, the government is betting that protecting the landscape and strengthening household income can be one and the same policy — a model it hopes to sustain as climate pressure makes each summer harder to predict.
