The Government of Chile reported this Sunday that it had arrested ten people on suspicion of being involved in the fires that devastated thousands of hectares in the center and south of the country and brought the number of deaths to 24.
The Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, recalled at a press conference that the law is very harsh in these cases, with prison sentences ranging from five to 20 years.
In the last few hours, a man hospitalized in the municipality of Angol, in the Araucanía Region, died from serious injuries, bringing the death toll from the fires to 24.
Manuel Monsalve indicated that “there are 26 people hospitalized with severe burns” and that more than 100,000 hectares and 800 houses were destroyed, displacing more than 800 people.
In the next few hours, a plane from the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) and a high-capacity water plane contracted by the Government will arrive in the region.
Since they started, the fires have had almost no air combat due to weather conditions, according to authorities, and also because, according to local experts, private companies that have these resources charge excessive fees.
The spokeswoman for the executive, Camila Vallejo, and other Chilean officials urged private companies to increase their help in putting out fires, with a special request to the logging companies, whose experts blame the situation on the overexploitation of the forests.
In addition to this factor, they also point to the wood residues they leave in the fields and to reforestation with species such as eucalyptus and pine, plus fuel.
According to the latest information from the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Attention (Senapred) of the Chilean Ministry of the Interior, there are currently 260 active fires throughout the country.
This official assured that “the activity of the fires during the night was less than expected”, because the temperatures have softened slightly, but he warned that, starting Tuesday, the south will face a new heat wave, with historical temperatures that They can reach 40 degrees Celsius.
The wave of fires mainly affects the regions of Ñuble, Biobío and La Araucanía, areas of intense agricultural and forestry activity located 400, 500 and 700 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, respectively.
The Government of Chile has decreed a State of Constitutional Exception for Disasters, which allows faster delivery of aid to affected people and the mobilization of resources, among other measures.
The European Commission (EC) assured today that it is “prepared” to help Chile in the matter of forest fires.
Source: TSF
