Devastating wildfires tearing through swaths of Chile have killed more than 120 people, authorities said Monday, as they warned that the death toll was set to rise.
At least 122 people have died so far, the Legal Medical Services of the city of Valparaiso said Monday. Officials also said that 32 bodies have been identified, 40 autopsies have been conducted, and 10 bodies are ready to be delivered to relatives.
News agency photographs and footage over the weekend laid bare the trail of destruction wrought in multiple communities by the infernos.
Aerial shots from the El Olivar commune showed dozens of vehicles burned to shells alongside multiple houses reduced to ash. One video obtained by CNN showed the inside of a bus ferrying passengers through the city of Valparaíso as fires raged outside.
There are currently 161 active fires burning across the country, the Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (SENAPRED) said.
SENAPRED Director Álvaro Hormazábal told CNN affiliate CNN Chile that firefighters had controlled 102 of those fires but are still battling 40 others. Nineteen wildfires are under currently observation, Hormazábal added.
President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency as coastal cities like Viña del Mar and Valparaiso choked in smoke. Residents living in central regions were also forced to evacuate their homes. Speaking at a press conference held after visiting affected areas on Sunday, Boric raised fears that the death toll would “increase significantly.”
In a televised statement on Saturday, Boric said that the defense ministry would deploy more military units to affected areas, with all necessary resources made available. He declared Monday and Tuesday as days of national mourning for fire victims.
The human-caused climate crisis is making heat waves and droughts, which fuel wildfires, more frequent and intense. The world is also currently experiencing the El Niño phenomenon, boosting temperatures even further.
Wildfires have intensified around the globe, providing a stark reminder of how the climate crisis is upending lives and inflicting billions of dollars a year in damage. And it will only get worse, according to experts. “Uncontrollable and devastating wildfires are becoming an expected part of the seasonal calendars in many parts of the world,” the UN Environment Programme said in a report published in 2022.
