Dozens of wildfires raged across Chile, forcing the government to extend an emergency order to another region on Saturday, as a scorching heat wave complicated efforts to contain the blazes, which have so far killed at least 23 people. Has taken the life of
At least 979 people have been injured in the massive fire, according to an official briefing later on Saturday.
The latest emergency order covers the southern region of La Araucania, next to the previously declared Biobio and Nubile regions in the middle of the South American country’s long Pacific coastline.
“Weather conditions (the fire) are spreading and the emergency is getting worse, making it very difficult to put it out,” Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters at a news conference in the capital Santiago.
“We need to reverse that curve,” she said, noting that 76 more fires had started on Friday.
There were 16 more fires reported on Saturday, according to officials, as local temperatures exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) in the Southern Hemisphere summer.
The three sparsely populated areas covered by emergency orders are home to many farms, which grow grapes, apples and berries for export, as well as extensive areas of forested land.
Officials told reporters on Saturday that the governments of Spain, the United States, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil and Venezuela have offered help, including aircraft and firefighters.