A series of

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s burned across

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

during January 2017.

Impact

On January 27–28, a wildfire described as the worst in Chile's

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

killed at least 11 people, including five firefighters and destroyed the town of Santa Olga in the central

Maule Region The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...

, displacing thousands of people.

Reactions

On January 20, the Chilean government declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

in response to the wildfires.

Chilean President The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

cancelled her planned visit to

Punta Cana Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It is part of the Veron–Punta Cana Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipal district, in the Salvaleón de Higüey, Higüey municipality of La Altagraci ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, for the fifth CELAC Summit on January 24–25 due to the wildfires. On late February 2022, five years after the fire Aída Baldini, manager of the wildfire division of the

National Forest Corporation The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...

, declared that their budget to fight fires had increased five times.

International support

* had more than 130 firefighters in Chile at one point. * sent firefighting equipment and tools.Contribution of Countries
/ref> * sent two

MAFFS The Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) is a self-contained unit used for aerial firefighting that can be loaded onto both military cargo transport Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Embraer C-390 Millennium, which then allows the aircraft to b ...

-equipped

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

. * provided planes and helicopters. * provided economic support. * sent more than 20 firefighters. * The sent a team of eight to Santiago. * sent 69 firefighters. * has donated

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

215,000. * has pledged aid to Chile. * has pledged aid to Chile. * sent four people. * sent more than 20 firefighters. * sent 21 firefighters. * sent more than 20 firefighters. * sent 52 firefighters. * sent an

Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comm ...

and more than 20 firefighters. * provided economic aid. * sent 64 firefighters. * sent firefighting equipment and tools. * The has donated US$5 million. * The sent four specialists from the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

, and a private company sent an

Evergreen 747 Supertanker The 747 Supertanker was one of several aerial firefighting#airtanker, aerial firefighting airtankers derived from various Boeing 747 models. The aircraft were rated to carry up to of fire retardant or water. They were the largest aerial firefi ...

with a crew of 12. The United States has also contributed US$1,580,000. * sent 80 firefighters.

References

{{Reflist

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

Wildfires in Chile Chile wildfires 2017 fires in South America

Impact

Reactions

International support

See also

References