The government of Chile declared a state of emergency after more than 100 fires erupted that have so far claimed the lives of 122 people and ravaged thousands of homes in the central region of Valparaíso.
While some media outlets have reported that the fires are the result of an ongoing heat wave and drought, Chilean government authorities are reportedly investigating the possibility that someone started at least some of the devastating and unprecedented wildfires intentionally. Authorities announced the arrests of two individuals allegedly related to the fires on Monday morning.
Officials with Chile’s National Defense announced they had detained at least two individuals suspected of having started fires near the Viña del Mar botanical garden, which was completely destroyed. The individuals have not been identified in public at press time, nor have the specific charges leading to the reported arrests.
The arrest of the two suspects comes hours after the superintendent of the Valparaíso Fire Department, Juan Paredes Brante, asserted that some of the presumed wildfires may have been intentionally caused:
Even if we have the best intent, as the commander of the Valparaíso firefighter corps said, while they managed to advance in the Salto de Agua emergency, they saw when another fire was being started with accelerant liquids in the southern part of the Laguna de la Luz sector. This is real, this was affirmative. Even if we work well, we are seeing that it keeps burning behind our backs.
“From the experience in Salto del Agua, yes. This is totally intentional, that is a reality that we must face, and especially because sectors have been burned that did not have to be burned,” Paredes Brante said.
A man puts out a forest fire affecting the hills in Quilpué comune, Valparaíso region, Chile, on February 3, 2024. (JAVIER TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)
The governor of Valparaíso, Rodrigo Mundaca, reportedly described those dying in fires as victims of “homicides” and vowed to bring the guilty to justice.
“Evidently, there is intentionality here and, therefore, all of us authorities will exert the maximum rigor,” he said on Sunday, according to the Argentine news outlet Infobae.
The chief of Chile’s National Defense, Daniel Muñoz, said that his officials, too, had evidence of some “planning” behind the origin of the fires.
“In the origins, there are some indications, as far as we know, a pattern of behavior that indicates that there was some planning, something orchestrated and organized,” Muñoz was quoted as saying on Monday.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric described the ongoing wildfires as the worst tragedy since 2010’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which left over 500 dead and thousands injured.
Chile’s Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve confirmed the 112 deaths on Sunday evening, stressing that, so far, only 32 bodies have been identified.
Monsalve detailed that there are almost 40,000 persons affected by damages or the complete destruction of their properties. Around 15,000 households have registered as affected by the fires as of late Sunday evening.
A view of destroyed houses after a forest fire that affected the hills of Vina del Mar, Chile, on February 3, 2024. (Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Chilean official, in his Sunday report, said that authorities have tallied 165 wildfires spread across the country, of which 40 are still being actively fought, 112 are classified “under control,” and four have been completely extinguished. More than 1,400 firemen have been reportedly deployed as of Sunday.
Monsalve explained that the forecasted weather conditions for Monday are expected to facilitate the ongoing firefighting efforts.
“The main change is that we will no longer have extreme conditions; temperatures will remain high, but not extreme, and we will have cloudiness in the mornings, which is more favorable for fire control,” he said.
Chilean authorities predicted that if the weather conditions and current workload continue steady, the fires, which have so far burned roughly 10,000 hectares, could be completely controlled over the next few days.
“There is no imminent risk to people’s lives, but they are active and work continues,” Monsalve added.
Boric declared a two-day mourning period on Sunday evening.
“It is Chile as a whole that suffers and mourns its dead,” Boric said during an inspection in Quilpué, a community located in Valparaíso that was affected by the fires.
“Know that you will not be alone, that the government, the State and the solidarity of Chilean men and women, which is always present in these difficult moments, are with you. Once again we are going to stand up,” he continued.
A curfew has been imposed as of Saturday in the regions of Marga Marga and Valparaíso to allow the local authorities to fight against the fires and provide the required assistance to those affected.
At press time, the Chilean government maintains active wildfire red alerts across ten locations and four yellow alerts in four different ones.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
