At Least 18 Dead as Wildfires Rage Through Chile amid ‘Extreme Temperatures’

A state of emergency has been declared in Chile after deadly wildfires left at least 18 people dead.

Over 50,000 people have now been evacuated in the Ñuble and Bio Bio regions as fires burned through around 21,000 acres in the areas so far, according to the BBC.

Around 300 houses have been destroyed amid the tragedy, per the Associated Press.

On Sunday, Jan. 18, Chilean President Gabriel Boric wrote in a translated X post, “In response to the ongoing wildfires, I have declared a state of emergency in the Ñuble and Bio Bio regions. All resources are available.”

Chile’s forestry agency, Conaf, said that firefighters had been battling 24 active fires across the country as of Sunday morning, per Reuters. Ñuble and Bio Bio, where the largest of the fires are, are about 310 miles south of the country’s capital, Santiago.

Conaf shared a video showing efforts to put out the fires on Facebook, writing that officials had been working through the night to stop the progress of the flames.

A Conaf spokesperson did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.

With the fires being declared a state of emergency, Chile’s armed forces can now be deployed to help, according to the BBC.

The majority of the evacuations occurred in Penco and Lirquen, just north of Concepción. The cities have a combined population of 60,000, the outlet stated.

Boric delivered a press conference from the city of Concepción in the Biobio region, sharing his condolences for victims, as well as warning that the number of people killed and the number of houses destroyed was expected to rise, per the AP.

Boric estimated that “certainly more than a thousand, just so far” of homes had been affected in the Biobio region alone, the news agency stated.

The country’s president said, “The first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering. These are difficult times,” per the AP.

The heat and strong winds have made it difficult for firefighters to extinguish the flames, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, the outlet noted. The heat was expected to continue through Monday.

“Weather conditions for coming hours are not good and indicate extreme temperatures,” Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde said, per the AP.

Penco resident, John Guzmán, 55, said, per the outlet, “Many people didn’t evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” adding, “It was completely out of control. No one expected it.”

The government imposed a nighttime curfew in the Penco area, with the fires burning cars, a school and a church in the city, the AP reported. Charred bodies were reportedly found along roads, in cars, across fields and in homes, the news agency stated.

“From what we can see, there are people who died … and we knew them well,” Víctor Burboa, 54, said, per the outlet. “Everyone here knew them.”

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Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student who lives in Penco, told Agence France-Presse (AFP), “We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death,” CBS News reported.

Chile has experienced devastating wildfires in recent years, including forest fires that resulted in the deaths of at least 120 people in the Valparaíso region near Santiago, two years ago, per the BBC.