This year, major wildfires have devastated parts of Chile once again. In January, multiple large fires ignited in the south-central Ñuble, Biobío, and La Araucanía regions, amid extreme heat, strong winds, and an ongoing drought. To support the extinction efforts, a Spanish team of forest fires experts was deployed through the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).
Deadly fires in central and southern Chile
As of 17 February, national authorities had reported at least 21 fatalities, 309 injured, more than 20,000 people affected, and 2,359 homes destroyed across the affected regions.
On 21 January, the EU’s Copernicus satellite mapping emergency system was activated to support firefighting efforts. Based on the analysis of 14 remotely-sensed images, it was estimated that approximately 7,676 buildings had been damaged throughout the country.
EU sends Spanish forest fire experts
To reinforce the response of the Chilean authorities, the EU deployed a Spanish Forest Fires Assessment and Advisory (FAST) Team. A pillar of the UCPM, a similar team had been sent to Chile in 2023, when the country was impacted by other waves of wildfires.
Assessing fire behaviour and damage
The experts of the FAST team supported Chilean staff in 3 aspects:
- aerial coordination
- planning and operations
wildfire analysis
‘We analysed the speed of the "Trinitarias" fire, advancing at about 3 km per hour at the beginning […] until it reached the populated area,’ said Iñaki Bustamante, who led the FAST Team of 8 members.
‘That may seem slow, but the firefighting capacity is estimated at a maximum of between 150 and 300 metres per hour, which means it’s a speed of advance 10 times greater than the firefighting capacity of the available equipment,’ Iñaki explained.
While weather conditions helped control some fires, adverse conditions extended the damage of others. Most fatalities were recorded in Penco, a small coastal city just north of the regional capital of Concepcion. Thousands of residents in the area could be seen sifting through the rubble of their homes, as firefighters continued to extinguish nearby fires.
Improving alerts and preparedness
During the spike of wildfires of 2024, the EU had also mobilised an advisory mission to Chile.
‘Throughout the 2024 mission (when a massive wildfire caused 137 deaths in Valparaíso), we noticed that the alert system had been insufficient,’ Jocelyn Lance, who coordinates Rapid Response for the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid in Latin America. This year, however, he noted tremendous improvement.
'The alert system has worked: information was sent on time and people followed the evacuation procedures,’ Jocelyn explained.
