“Fanned by strong gusts of wind, The blaze has already burned some 110 hectares (270 acres),” said the National Emergency Office (Onemi), which issued a municipal red alert for Vina del Mar and ordered the evacuation of Tranque Sur, Puerto Montt, Puerto Aysèn, Cabritera, Forestal Alto, Siete Hermanas and the Felipe Camiroaga intake.

On the other hand, Chilian president Gabriel Boric ordered a declaration of a state of calamity due to the fire.

“I have instructed to decree a state of constitutional exception of catastrophe to have all the necessary tools to fight the fires affecting Viña del Mar. We will not leave them alone,” Boric wrote on Twitter. (ILKHA)