More than 245 homes have been destroyed and 700 people left destitute after a forest fire tore through a low-income area of the Chilean seaside city of Valparaiso on Christmas Eve, SIA reports referring to Reuters.
President Sebastian Pinera said on Thursday during a tour of the affected zone that there was evidence the fire had been started deliberately. Valparaiso, known for its colorful wood-frame houses, is popular among tourists in the South American country.
The fire broke out in a forested area on the outskirts of the city and spread toward the coast, hitting the Rocuant and San Roque hills, a jumble of settlements that overlook the city. Inhabitants fled their homes just moments before sitting down to their Christmas Eve dinner, some losing all their belongings and even pets.
Chile's forestry commission said the fire was only fully brought under control at midday on Thursday with the help of nine firefighting teams, five helicopters and two water trucks. A total of 132 hectares of vegetation were destroyed, it added.
Agriculture Minister Antonio Walker said the high temperatures at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer, which runs from December to March, and dry conditions caused by a historic drought currently blighting Chile had provided fertile ground for the fire. Valparaiso's mayor Jorge Sharp, said on Wednesday he had filed a criminal complaint with the courts against those who started the fire, once they are identified.
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