When Santiago Vergara arrived in Penco, Chile, with a volunteer convoy loaded with bottled water and non-perishable food, the southern town’s geography felt unfamiliar.
The 34-year-old engineer knew the coastline of the Biobío region well, having vacationed in the area in the past, but now whole blocks had been reduced to ash and twisted metal, as if the wind had taken the outline of the neighborhood and rubbed it out overnight.
On January 14, fast-moving wildfires fueled by extreme heat and strong winds tore through Penco and surrounding communities in Chile’s south, taking the lives of at least 21 people, injuring more than 300, and destroying more than 2,300 homes in a matter of hours.
