New areas under threat as infernos rage in Chile

CONCEPCI, Chile — Forest fires that have killed 26 people and left thousands homeless in south-central Chile in the past week threatened new regions on Tuesday as temperatures soared.

About 5,600 firefighters, most of them volunteers, are battling 81 priority blazes out of 301 still burning, authorities said.

As international help in the form of personnel and equipment boosted the teams' efforts, officials declared a red alert in the southern Los Rios region, where fires threatened the Corral and Valdivia municipalities.

Officials also fear fires could break out in the metropolitan region around the capital Santiago.

After a brief reprieve over the weekend, temperatures soared again on Tuesday to create conditions that, combined with the effects of a devastating drought, are conducive to the fire spreading.

The temperature in many places was likely to exceed 37 C until the end of the week, according to forecasts.

"A very complex climate situation can arise," said Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve, urging teams to be "prepared for any eventuality".

More than 2,100 people have been injured in a week of blazes in the regions of Biobio, La Araucania and Nuble, where a state of emergency is in place.

Flames have consumed more than 280,000 hectares of land, an area larger than Luxembourg, and razed 1,150 homes, the Senapred national emergency response service said.

The smoke cloud covering much of Chile as a result has also triggered health warnings.

Fifteen people have been arrested on suspicion of setting some of the fires.

About 2,200 professional firefighters from the CONAF forest corporation and private companies are being backed in the battle by 3,400 volunteers, and hundreds of experts sent as a backup by other countries.

France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday that the country would send another 80 firefighters and rescue workers to Chile within hours "to support their counterparts who have been fighting courageously for several days against very intense fires".

Agencies via Xinhua