MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile: Fire in Viña under control but red alert declared in La Araucanía

The red alert in La Araucanía is to last “until the conditions of the fire so warrant”

Chilean authorities announced late Sunday that the fire in Viña del Mar was under control and declared a red alert for a similar incident in La Araucanía.

The fire in Viña del Mar, on Chile's central coast, was reported under control although still to be fully extinguished, after hundreds of houses were burned down.

“The fire in Viña del Mar is in a controlled situation and has left the red alert. That does not mean that it is totally extinguished,” Interior Minister Carolina Tohá told reporters at Viña, 120 kilometers west of Santiago.

She also ruled out any direct threat to residents in the affected area and its surroundings, which allowed the alert to be softened from red to yellow. However, “there are still teams working in the area,” Tohá explained.

The fire has left so far two people dead and 67 injured, in addition to 267 houses damaged, according to the National Emergency Office (Onemi), which announced that the alert for a separate fire in the commune of Lucaco in La Araucanía had been upped to red after some 300 hectares were affected and rural homes were in danger.

Onemi explained that the Regional Presidential Delegation of La Araucanía had issued the red alert based on data from the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF). The red alert is to last “until the conditions of the fire so warrant.”

The authorities also specified that two technicians, four brigades, a helicopter, five AT planes, and a CONAF Hercules aircraft had been deployed to put down the flames. The fire departments of Lumaco, Purén, and Capitán Pastene have also been engaged, it was reported.

“We are coordinating any support required by the community and we will inform in a timely manner of any variation in the emergency,” Onemi Director in La Araucanía Janet Medrano said.