On the 18th, Chilean President Boric announced on social media that the Biobío and Ñuble regions of Chile have entered a state of disaster due to severe forest fires, and authorized the use of all necessary resources to extinguish the fires.
According to the latest data on the 18th, the fires in these two areas have already caused at least 19 deaths.
According to an announcement by the Chilean National Forestry Corporation, as of 9:30 am local time on the 18th, there were a total of 24 ongoing forest fires in the country, 9 of which were in the Ñuble region and 3 in the Biobío region. The largest affected fire was in the city of Ránquil, Ñuble region, with a burned area of 2,200 hectares.
The director of Chile's National Disaster Prevention and Response Center, Cefrián, said in a media interview that in the most severely affected community of Penco, Biobío region, at least 30,000 people have been forced to evacuate.
Meanwhile, in the Ñuble region, about 20,000 people have evacuated.